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Saudi Arabia, India Discuss Strategies to Strengthen Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture, Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, met with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, in Varanasi. SPA
The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture, Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, met with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, in Varanasi. SPA
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Saudi Arabia, India Discuss Strategies to Strengthen Cultural Cooperation

The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture, Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, met with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, in Varanasi. SPA
The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture, Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, met with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, in Varanasi. SPA

The Saudi Assistant Minister of Culture, Rakan bin Ibrahim Al-Touq, has met with the Indian Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Meenakashi Lekhi, in the Indian city of Varanasi.

The meeting took place on Saturday during the official visit of the Saudi Assistant Minister to India, where he represented the Kingdom at the G20 Cultural Ministers' Meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Al-Touq expressed his gratitude to the Indian Minister for the warm hospitality and commended India's exceptional leadership during its G20 presidency this year. He acknowledged India's dedication to advancing the cultural agenda throughout its term.

Al-Touq reiterated the Kingdom's support for the cultural priorities outlined by the Indian presidency.

The meeting focused on strategies to strengthen cooperation and cultural exchange between the two countries. Discussions dealt with the enhancement of cultural exchange and training programs across various cultural domains, including the film industry, culinary arts, organization of visual arts exhibitions, helping with the residencies of artists in both countries and sharing expertise in documenting intangible cultural heritage and preserving historical sites.

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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
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UN Rights Office Warns of Israel’s Threat to Baalbek, Other Archaeological Sites in Lebanon

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted an area on the outskirts of the eastern Lebanese city of Baalbek in the Bekaa valley on October 31, 2024. (AFP)

The UN Human Rights Office on Friday expressed alarm over “the continuing grave impact” of Israeli military operations on civilians and civilian targets in Lebanon, including the destruction of places of worship and risks posed to invaluable archaeological sites.

The office said that since Israel’s air force ordered the northeastern Lebanese city of Baalbek evacuated, airstrike that followed have “come perilously close” to the ancient Roman-era temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Destruction of cultural heritage “depletes the historical and cultural identity of the communities it represents,” it said.

The sites destroyed or severely damaged so far include mosques in the southern villages of Yaroun, Maroun el-Ras, Blida, and Kfar Tibnit, OHCHR said, adding that a Melkite Greek Catholic church in the port city of Tyre was also damaged in early October.

Civilian objects, buildings dedicated to religion and other sites of cultural significance are protected from attack under international humanitarian law unless they become military objectives, the office said.

It stressed that should the sites lose their protection, any attacks upon them must still comply with the principles of proportionality and precaution, and that all parties to the conflict should take special care to avoid damage to buildings dedicated to religion or other sites of cultural or historical significance.