RIYADH, July 15 (Xinhua) -- A report released by the official Saudi Press Agency on Saturday said Saudi Arabia had made "creative" efforts to promote its civilization and heritage in line with the Saudi Vision 2030 since the kingdom's Culture Ministry became an independent entity in 2018.
Titled "Saudi Arabia's Unique Civilization and Heritage Promoted by Culture Ministry," the report said the ministry had launched a number of programs in the past few years, such as the King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language dedicated to promoting the Arabic language worldwide and the Red Sea International Film Festival to enriching local film content.
With the aim to contribute about 3 percent to the GDP by 2030 through tapping Saudi Arabia's cultural potentials, the ministry declared 2021 "Year of Arabic Calligraphy," 2022 "Year of Saudi Coffee," and 2023 "Year of Arabic Poetry" to make specific Arabic and Saudi cultural life known to the world.
Seeking to build bridges with other civilizations, Saudi Arabia hosted the first joint meeting of G20 culture ministers in late 2020 to discuss the growing contribution of culture to the global economy.
A Saudi royal decree issued on June 2, 2018 made the Ministry of Culture an independent entity, separating it from the Ministry of Media.
