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King Salman Launches Non-Profit Foundation to Invest in Human Development

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman approves the adoption of the non-profit King Salman Foundation’s bylaws.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman approves the adoption of the non-profit King Salman Foundation’s bylaws.
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King Salman Launches Non-Profit Foundation to Invest in Human Development

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman approves the adoption of the non-profit King Salman Foundation’s bylaws.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman approves the adoption of the non-profit King Salman Foundation’s bylaws.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, in a royal decree on Thursday, approved the adoption of the non-profit King Salman Foundation’s bylaws.

The Foundation reflects King Salman’s passion for culture, knowledge and history and it perpetuates achievements in the non-profit sector. The Foundation also supports sustainability in urban development.

The launch of the Foundation is derived from the King’s longstanding charitable and humanitarian initiatives.

“We will always continue, God willing, to invest in people, develop their culture and pride in their identity as a permanent approach because we seek to confront human challenges and sustain the prosperity of societies,” the King said in a statement on his X account.

“We look forward to making the foundation a lasting impact on the individual and society,” he added.

There are a number of King Salman Cultural Centers, including the King Salman Museum and King Salman Library at the Diriyah Gate Project and Saudi Society Museum at the King Salman Park Project.

The Foundation reflects King Salman’s passion for culture, knowledge and history. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan said the foundation continues King Salman's work to promote culture. He added on X that the foundation’s cultural centers would expand opportunities for creativity and knowledge.

Several cultural institutions and academic chairs named after King Salman reflect his long-standing support for cultural and historical values. These initiatives promote the Arabic language regionally and internationally and preserve Saudi history through various projects he has backed.

He has always supported Saudi cultural figures, encouraging their recognition and valuing their contributions. His personal library, filled with rare manuscripts and books, shows his passion for knowledge and preserving heritage.

The King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (Darah) celebrated the launch of the Foundation, highlighting King Salman’s role in preserving national history.

During his 20 years as chairman, Darah saw significant growth, advancing the study of Saudi and Arab history, geography, and culture.

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Dutch Art Sleuth Recovers Stolen Trove of UNESCO-listed Documents

This handout photograph obtained on July 8, 2025, courtesy of Arthur Brand shows Dutch art detective Arthur Brand posing with stolen documents from the 15th to the 19th century, including several UNESCO-listed archives from the world's first multinational corporation Dutch East India Company (VOC), in Amsterdam on June 24, 2025. (Photo by ARTHUR BRAND / AFP)
This handout photograph obtained on July 8, 2025, courtesy of Arthur Brand shows Dutch art detective Arthur Brand posing with stolen documents from the 15th to the 19th century, including several UNESCO-listed archives from the world's first multinational corporation Dutch East India Company (VOC), in Amsterdam on June 24, 2025. (Photo by ARTHUR BRAND / AFP)
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Dutch Art Sleuth Recovers Stolen Trove of UNESCO-listed Documents

This handout photograph obtained on July 8, 2025, courtesy of Arthur Brand shows Dutch art detective Arthur Brand posing with stolen documents from the 15th to the 19th century, including several UNESCO-listed archives from the world's first multinational corporation Dutch East India Company (VOC), in Amsterdam on June 24, 2025. (Photo by ARTHUR BRAND / AFP)
This handout photograph obtained on July 8, 2025, courtesy of Arthur Brand shows Dutch art detective Arthur Brand posing with stolen documents from the 15th to the 19th century, including several UNESCO-listed archives from the world's first multinational corporation Dutch East India Company (VOC), in Amsterdam on June 24, 2025. (Photo by ARTHUR BRAND / AFP)

A Dutch art sleuth has recovered a priceless trove of stolen documents from the 15th to the 19th century, including several UNESCO-listed archives from the world's first multinational corporation.

Arthur Brand, nicknamed the "Indiana Jones of the Art World" for his high-profile recovery of stolen masterpieces, said the latest discovery was among his most significant.

"In my career, I have been able to return fantastic stolen art, from Picassos to a Van Gogh... yet this find is one of the highlights of my career," Brand told AFP.

Many of the documents recount the early days of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), whose globetrotting trading and military operations contributed to the Dutch "Golden Age", when the Netherlands was a global superpower.

The 17th century VOC documents contain a "fascinating glimpse into the events of that time in places like Europe, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Latin America," said Brand.

One document from 1602 recounts the first meeting of the VOC, during which its famous logo -- considered the world's first corporate logo -- was designed.

VOC merchants criss-crossed the globe, catapulting the Netherlands to a world trading power but also exploiting and oppressing the colonies it conquered.

The company was also a leading diplomatic power and one document relates a visit in 1700 by top VOC officials to the court of the Mughal emperor in India.

"Since the Netherlands was one of the most powerful players in the world at that time in terms of military, trade, shipping, and colonies, these documents are part of world history," said Brand.

UNESCO agrees, designating the VOC archives as part of its "Memory of the World" documentary heritage collection.

"The VOC archives make up the most complete and extensive source on early modern world history anywhere," says UNESCO on its website.

The trove also featured early ships logs from one of the world's most famous admirals, Michiel de Ruyter, whose exploits are studied in naval academies even today.

De Ruyter gained fame for his daring 1667 raid to attack the English fleet in the River Medway, one of the greatest humiliations in world naval history.

The ship's logs, written in his own hand, relate the admiral's first experience of naval warfare, the 1641 Battle of St Vincent against the Spanish fleet.

No less enthralling is the "who-dunnit" of how Brand came by the documents.

Brand received an email from someone who had stumbled across a box of seemingly ancient manuscripts while clearing out the attic of an incapacitated family member.

This family member occasionally lent money to a friend, who would leave something as collateral -- in this case the box of documents.

"I received some photos and couldn't believe my eyes. This was indeed an extraordinary treasure," Brand told AFP.

Brand investigated with Dutch police and concluded the documents had been stolen in 2015 from the vast National Archives in The Hague.

The main suspect -- an employee at the archives who had indeed left the box as collateral but never picked it up -- has since died.

Brand compared the theft to a daring heist by a curator at the British Museum, who spirited away some 1,800 objects, selling some of them on eBay.

The art detective said he spent many an evening sifting through the documents, transported back in time.

"Wars at sea, negotiations at imperial courts, distant journeys to barely explored regions, and knights," he told AFP.

"I felt like I had stepped into Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Treasure Island."