“It’s with great pleasure to be with you today. It's heartening to note your enthusiasm for history and culture of the GCC states. Let's work together to preserve our common cultural heritage,” he said to the 150 participants from GCC countries.

Discussions during the three-day forum include 25 research topics on the history of GCC countries and their respective antiquities and heritage. The research topics include historical eras, such as the ancient and contemporary Islamic periods.

Prince Sultan said the SCTA had made great efforts in recent times to recover antiquities from abroad to the Kingdom. About 14,000 pieces of antiquities had been retrieved, he said, adding that these would form part of the collection to be displayed at an exhibition in the National Museum in Riyadh next year.

Prince Sultan also called on anyone in the Kingdom or abroad in possession of Saudi antiquities to cooperate with the SCTA in retrieving these in order to display them during the exhibition in 2012. “It is the duty of everyone of us to preserve Saudi antiquities for the patrimony of our nation,” he said.

The forum also gave an award to the SCTA president for his “efforts regarding history, antiquities and urban heritage, and for the leaps that have been made in the development of local tourism and antiquities.”

Ali Shabab, president of the society, thanked Custodian of the Two Mosques King Abdullah and Prince Sultan for taking care of the members of the society, which was founded 30 years ago.

The forum appointed Ahmad Al-Zailai, a Saudi, as the new secretary-general for a three-year term.

A new governing council for the society was also appointed for a three-year term. The members include Ali Mansour from Bahrain; Faisal Al-Khandari, Kuwait; Ibrahim Al-Mozaini, Saudi Arabia; Hamad bin Sarai, the UAE; Mohamed Al-Ammadi, Qatar; Zaid Al-Hashimi, Oman; and Moshalleh Al-Moraekhi, from Saudi Arabia and vice dean of tourism at King Saud University.

The forum is held annually in different GCC countries.