Egypt will be the guest-of-honor country at Al-Janadriyah 31, the national heritage and culture festival named after the village on the northern outskirts of Riyadh, where it is held annually to celebrate Saudi identity.
The festival, organized by the Ministry of National Guard, will open on Wednesday under the patronage of King Salman, said Abdul Mohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, deputy minister of the National Guard and deputy chairman of the festival’s supreme committee, at a press conference.
He said King Salman is a strong believer in the festival’s message of maintaining and deepening Saudi heritage, culture and traditions, and above all the principles of Islam, as was the late King Abdullah.
“In the upcoming 31st session of the festival, we keep progressing under our wise leadership in building our country and protecting our achievements and holy shrines,” Al-Tuwaijri said, expressing pleasure in hosting Egypt as the guest of honor.
He praised media coverage of the festival and the close partnership between the two.
The press conference was attended by Nasser Hamdy, ambassador of Egypt in Riyadh. “It is a great honor for Egypt to have been chosen as the guest-of-honor country for the 31st edition of the festival. We express our sincere thanks to King Salman for choosing us,” Hamdy told Arab News.
“The participation of Egypt at this outstanding cultural heritage festival of course reflects the deep relations beatween the two countries,” he said, adding that this will further strengthen people-to-people relations and cultural exchange.
Egypt’s government is “very dedicated to finalizing all aspects of participation in the festival,” Hamdy said. “Preparation is almost finished. Eleven troops will participate in our special pavilion, representing different parts of Egypt and its diversity.”

Source: Arab News