Juergen Krieghoff, ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, said in an interview that the three months of cultural events not only boosted cooperation between Germany and Saudi Arabia but also showed the broad spectrum of areas where cooperation is possible: Excerpts of the interview.

Q: Mr. Ambassador, upon the conclusion of three months of cultural events: What is your impression of the first-ever German Cultural Weeks in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia?

A: In organizing the German Cultural Weeks in Riyadh and Jeddah we have created structures of close and friendly cooperation between the German Embassy and Consulate and many partners on the Saudi side, structures we can build upon for extending the friendly relations of our countries to the cultural and other fields. One of the most important goals of the German Cultural Weeks in the Kingdom was to show the broad spectrum of areas where cooperation can be possible: architecture, archaeology, literature, music and sciences. The attention the German Cultural Weeks received by the public and by the media was a success we can build on.

Q: You said you intend to build on the success of the German Cultural Weeks in the future. Are there any plans for the second German Cultural Weeks in 2009?

A: Well, with these three months of cultural events just concluded it is too early to speculate about the next cultural weeks. But I believe we need more events like this one in order to further the inter-cultural dialogue and mutual understanding of each other. To know the other and foreign culture is an important prerequisite for understanding foreign countries and their people. The media play an important role in this aspect. In this context I would also like to congratulate my Swedish colleague and the Ministry of Education for the exchange of youths program, which was organized recently. This is as important a contribution to mutual understanding as the German team of writers playing soccer against Saudi journalists in the Al-Shabab stadium in March. And I would welcome more Saudi cultural events in Germany.

Q: In your opinion, what is the impact of the German Cultural Weeks?

A: The activities of the Cultural Weeks have demonstrated that the Kingdom is more open than people expect it to be. Take the concert of the Artis Piano Quartet as an example: It received a lot of attention not only because of the outstanding quality of the performance but also because a public classical concert of a mixed group of artists in front of a mixed audience in Saudi Arabia was made possible.

Q: Mr. Ambassador, will there be an exchange of cultural activities? Will there be Saudi Arabian Cultural Weeks in Germany?

A: That is a good question that I can answer with three words: I hope so. Needless to say that the German side would very much welcome such an initiative to build on what we have achieved during the past weeks and to deepen cultural exchange between our two countries. Past cultural activities organized by the Kingdom received substantial interest in Germany. An example is the exhibition of Saudi paintings “Assafeer” shown by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to Berlin in November 2007. I hope that many more of such events will follow because I imagine that my countrymen would be very interested to see a traditional “Ardha” dance performed or to witness the second game between a soccer team of Saudi journalists and the German Writer’s League, this time in Germany. This would be an opportunity for the German team to compensate for their defeat in Riyadh in March where the Saudi team won 5-1.

Thank you for the interview.