Day: March 20, 2023

Moscow and Beijing have many common goals and tasks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in the Kremlin on Monday.

“We have a lot of common goals, tasks,” Putin said. “I know that you personally, all our Chinese friends pay much attention to the development of Sino-Russian relations,” he told the Chinese leader.

The Russian president also said that trade turnover between the two countries “more than doubled” in 2022 to $185 bln.

Source: Syria Arab News Agency

Foreign and Expatriates Minister, Fayssal Mikdad, discussed Monday with Mr. Kamal Kharrazi, Iran’s former foreign Minister and Head of Iran Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, different aspects of bilateral relations and the economic cooperation.

The talks also tackled the latest regional and international developments.

Mikdad highly appreciated Iran’s efforts and the humanitarian aid it provided for the earthquake- affected people.

“Syria highly values Iran’s support in the war on terror,” Mikdad said, describing relations between Syria and Iran as deep and strong.

Kharrazi, for his part, reaffirmed his country’s support for Syria, calling for intensifying the joint action in the light of the new regional developments.

Source: Syria Arab News Agency

President of the Survey and Land Registration Bureau (SLRB), Shaikh Salman bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa, received in his office Shaikha Meriam bint Mubarak bin Sabah Al Khalifa, the senior legal researcher in SLRB, on the occasion of obtaining a Master’s Degree from the University College of Bahrain.

Shaikh Salman bin Abdullah Al Khalifa praised her research thesis on empowering female leaderships in the Kingdom of Bahrain. He praised her efforts in conducting the study, wishing her every success in her academic and professional life.

Shaikha Meriam bint Mubarak Al Khalifa expressed utmost thanks and appreciation for the support given to her by Shaikh Salman bin Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa and the officials in SLRB.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) facilitated a total of 14 investment agreements at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix., reports SPA.

Aimed at developing the Kingdom’s sports, entertainment and construction sectors, the agreements were signed as part of a comprehensive sponsorship programme hosted by Invest Saudi, Saudi Arabia’s investment promotion entity.

Twelve of the agreements were signed with leading sports companies and span the breadth of the sports industry, in support of the Kingdom’s vision for the sector to increase mass participation in sports, nurture talent development and stimulate elite sporting success.

New partnerships include agreements with Sportscar manufacturer BAC Cars and VeloceLife to launch a leading manufacturing facility of BAC sports cars in Saudi Arabia; PureGym Group to support expansion of their gym and fitness facilities; Seedorf Group for the establishment of sport academies and sport medical clinics, and Meritus Formula4 to explore the activation of the Formula 4 academies and host championships in Saudi Arabia.

Alongside these agreements, Invest Sport (MISA’s department responsible for accelerating investments across the Kingdom’s sports industry) hosted workshops with Peter Thompson, CEO of the Asian Autosport Action (AAA) Group, Faisal bin Laden, CEO of VeloceLife, and Basim Ibrahim, MISA Sport Sector Manager, who highlighted the investment potential of the burgeoning sports sector.

This year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix is the latest elite sporting event to be hosted in Saudi Arabia. Last month, the Kingdom hosted a high-profile boxing event between British boxer Tommy Fury and social media star Jake Paul; in January, the Spanish Super Cup was held in the historic district of Diriyah, and in October it was announced that the Kingdom would host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at the mountain resort Trojena.

Saudi Arabia’s sports sector has witnessed a significant development in recent years, fuelled by widespread social transformation and government commitment to invest $2bn in sports by 2024. The sector’s contribution to non-oil GDP is expected to reach over $22bn by 2030, with an additional $5bn in private sector contribution, providing significant opportunities for international investors.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

Jordan's Foreign Ministry summoned on Monday Israeli ambassador to Jordan in protest, after the Israeli Minister of Finance's use of a map of Israel that includes the borders of Jordan and the occupied Palestinian Territories, during an event in Paris.

In a statement, the Ministry described the far-right Israeli minister's actions as "extremist and racist behavior that violates international norms and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty." The ministry's official spokesperson, Sinan Majali, said a "strongly" worded letter of protest had been conveyed to the Israeli ambassador for his government.

Sinan said that in the letter the Jordanian government condemns the "racist and extremist" inciting statements against the Palestinians and their right to exist, and their historical rights in their independent and sovereign state on Palestinian national soil.

It warns of the danger of the repeated extremist actions issued by the Israeli finance minister, who had previously called for the wiping out of a Palestinian town in the occupied West Bank.

The foreign ministry urged the international community to condemn the Israeli minister's extremist and inflammatory actions and statements, which violate human values and principles.

Majali said the ambassador was informed of the need for his government to take a clear position regarding extremism and hateful inflammatory statements issued by a minister in the Israeli government.

He reaffirmed that the ministry is taking political and legal measures to address such "extremist and hateful" actions and statements.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities (BACA) today launched the French version of the book the book "Bahrain Fort: The Ancient Port and Capital of Dilmun" by its author Dr. Pierre Lombard.

The launch ceremony was hosted at the Bahrain Fort Site Museum on the sidelines of the celebration of the International Day of Francophonie.

The event was attended by BACA President Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, the French Ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain Jerome Cauchard, in addition culture and media figures.

BACA president hailed long-standing cultural relations between the two friendly countries, pointing out that the French archaeological mission contributed to the discovery of the archaeological treasures of the site registered on the World Heritage List.

He praised Dr. Lombard's efforts in editing the book, noting his role in supervising the excavation work at the Qal'at al-Bahrain site for more than 4 decades.

The French Ambassador commended BACA's efforts to strengthen cultural relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and France, stressing the importance of launching the book in its French version to reach the wider Francophone world.

Dr. Pierre Lombard noted that French version contributes to promoting the civilization and culture of the Kingdom of Bahrain, highlighting the importance of the Bahrain Fort, the first site of Bahrain on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The first version of the book was published in 2016 within the 17th Bahrain International Book Fair, shedding light on Qal'at al-Bahrain site museum, which is built on an area of 2000 square meters.

The company that designed the museum was keen to combine its international experience and features of local architecture to construct an exceptional space that combines interaction, exploration and memory of history.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

The Ministry of Municipality, represented by the Food Security Department, participated in the first meeting of the Standing Committee for Food Security of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC), held via visual communication technology.

Director of Food Security Department at the Ministry of Municipality Dr. Masoud Jarallah Al Marri represented the Ministry in meeting that discussed a number of topics on the agenda related to the duties and competencies of the committee and the memorandum of understanding with the Islamic Organization for Food Security.

The committee formed a working group to prepare a vision for a Gulf guiding strategy for food security in order to coordinate and join efforts to face the challenges, and to strengthen the food security system in the GCC countries.

The Standing Committee for Food Security was recently initiated as a subcommittee of the Agricultural Cooperation and Food Security Committee in the GCC countries (previously Agricultural Cooperation Committee).

The name was recently modified by under a GCC Ministerial Council decision within the framework of emphasizing the importance of food security issues in the GCC countries as one of the important and vital strategic issues.

Source: Qatar News Agency

The Damascene brocade, which stunned most art lovers in the world with its beauty and magnificence of texture, lands in Japan to be woven by Japanese artist Yuki Yasuda who turned it into unique pieces of art.

Yasuda noted in a statement to SANA that she works in the industry of accessories and fabrics, and is interested in traditional heritage, so she was obsessed to the world-famous Damascene brocade fabric.”

With my hope for rebuilding Syria, I started trying to import fabrics from there to my country last year, the Japanese artist said.

During her continuous participation in art markets and exhibitions in her country, Yasuda presents pieces of art that she wove from Damascene brocade, including elegant small multi-use bags.

Source: Syria Arab News Agency