Cultural Development Fund Is Strategic Partner for FII Institute

The signing ceremony in London. (FII Institute)
The signing ceremony in London. (FII Institute)
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Cultural Development Fund Is Strategic Partner for FII Institute

The signing ceremony in London. (FII Institute)
The signing ceremony in London. (FII Institute)

The Cultural Development Fund signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Thursday

The agreement was signed during its first international summit in London, entitled "Social, Environmental and Comprehensive Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets".

It aims to activate the Fund's pioneering role by supporting investment and development fields in the cultural sector.

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of the head of the Strategy Sector representing the Fund, Naglaa bint Suleiman Al-Numeer, and FII Institute CEO Richard Attias.

CEO of the Cultural Development Fund, Mohammed bin Abdurrahman Dayel said the Fund's participation in this huge global economic event will help strengthen its position among global financial and investment institutions, and highlight investment opportunities in the culture sector.

Attias expressed his great happiness with this partnership, stressing that the strategic partners have unique experience in various fields.

This will help support the FII's mission as a global non-profit organization in making a positive impact that serves humanity.

Collectively, through its four domains, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Education, Healthcare and Sustainability, each partner has its pivotal efforts to achieve this goal, he added.



French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to Asharq Al-Awsat: Military Option Ineffective in Israel-Iran Conflict 

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia to Asharq Al-Awsat: Military Option Ineffective in Israel-Iran Conflict 

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

French Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Patrick Maisonnave said Paris believes that military intervention will not resolve the “problem” over Iran’s nuclear program.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he said such a solution was “ineffective” because it cannot completely eliminate Iran’s nuclear knowledge or ensure the complete destruction of all of its nuclear facilities.

Moreover, he warned against attempts to change the Iranian regime from the outside, saying it may have dire consequences, such as the collapse of the state, civil war, instability, regional conflicts, migration crises and raise terrorism threat levels.

This instability may also impact the security of the Gulf region and extend to Europe as well, he warned.

Damage to Iran’s nuclear sites may lead to dangerous radiation in the region that may spread to other regions, including Gulf waters, he went on to say.

Furthermore, military intervention will pose major dangers to regional stability, the security of France’s partners and allies in the region, and the Hormuz Strait. It may lead to attacks on American military bases and energy infrastructure, warned Maisonnave.

A diplomatic solution is the best way forward, he stressed, explaining that it will lead to a viable and permanent solution that enjoys international backing. This solution must tackle technical issues, such as enrichment levels. It also averts the grave consequences of military escalation.

A diplomatic solution must ensure that International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are allowed to tour nuclear facilities at any time and without prior notice, he added.

This is the path that France chose in the past and that it believes is the best way to reach a permanent and peaceful solution, he stressed.

At the same time, the ambassador acknowledged that the Iranian nuclear program was a dangerous threat to French and European security interests, as well as to countries of the Gulf given its potential to destabilize the region and the “security of our allies”.

This concern deepened after IAEA inspectors were for years unable to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, he remarked.

France and European countries are very concerned that the program was not designed with purely civilian purposes, Maisonnave said.