Under the presidency of Qatar, the preparatory meeting of the General Cultural Committee of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) states took place in Doha on Tuesday. The meeting serves as a precursor to the meeting of Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Culture of GCC countries Wednesday, followed by a meeting of the Ministers of Culture of GCC states on Thursday.
Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture Abdulrahman Abdullah al-Dulaimi chaired the meeting, whose opening speech emphasised the importance of enhancing joint cultural co-operation among the GCC countries. Al-Dulaimi said that this meeting coincides with the 5th Gulf narration forum taking place in Doha, being one of the GCC's important cultural activities, adding that conducting joint cultural work under the umbrella of the GCC Secretariat General has had a significant impact on the current active cultural life in member states, in addition to activating partnerships with sisterly and friendly countries.
The Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture said that the state of culture in the Gulf is grounded in commonalities and Islamic and Arab identities, which facilitate the implementation of the meeting's outcomes. During her speech, Director of the Department of Culture, Tourism and Antiquities in the Secretariat General of the GCC Ohood al-Haif stressed the importance of enhancing joint cultural co-operation by means of the meetings' agenda.
In his remarks to Qatar News Agency (QNA) following the meeting, Abdulrahman Abdullah al-Dulaimi said that the meeting went over the General Cultural Committee's agenda, which then needs to be presented to Undersecretaries of the Ministries of Culture of GCC countries in their meeting on Wednesday, before being approved by the Ministers of Culture of GCC states on Thursday.
Al-Dulaimi said that the General Cultural Committee addressed various items regarding supporting joint cultural co-operation, assessing past achievements, namely the Gulf Cultural Strategy (2020-2030), and holding joint cultural activities, in addition to the vision of developing cooperation among the culture and tourism sectors in member states.
The Director of the Department of Culture and Arts at the Ministry of Culture also mentioned the Bulletin of culture statistics and the efforts of GCC Ministries of Culture in developing it, in addition to the GCC Center for Translation, Arabization and the Promotion of Arabic, based in Oman. Al-Dulaimi said that Qatar places great importance on enhancing joint GCC cultural work, given those countries' shared history, geography, and culture. He added that Qatar has accepted all of the Committee's recommendations.
