Saudi cultural attaché in France Abdullah Al-Khateeb has described the just-concluded third Saudi-French symposium on civilization dialogue in Jeddah as the largest ever dialogue forum in the history of the Kingdom.
In an exclusive interview with Nadim Al-Hamid of Arab News, Al-Khateeb said the main objective of the symposium was to further cement cultural and scientific cooperation between Saudi and French universities.
“At present, there are more than 1,200 Saudi male and female students studying various specialties in a number of French universities including medicine, law, public relations, political sciences and other subjects,” he said.
The attaché said the most important scientific programs between the Kingdom and France involved medical cooperation and training Saudi medical doctors to obtain specialist certificates. “Under this cooperation, the two countries have signed an agreement enabling Saudi doctors to practice medicine in France, similar to their French counterparts,” he said.
Al-Khateeb explained Saudi doctors in France will receive the same treatment as French doctors in terms of the level of certificates and quality of training. “The Saudi doctors in France are now reaping the fruits of this agreement,” he added. He strongly lauded the support of the Higher Education Ministry and said Saudi cultural attachés are now benefiting from the moral and material support extended to them by the ministry.
Asked to evaluate the outcome of the symposium, Al-Khateeb said it was difficult for him to assess the results and recommendations being one of the organizers himself, pointing out this should be done by others.
He, however, described the recommendations of the symposium as important and believed that they would further cement bilateral cooperation in various fields, particularly in the medical and cultural domains.
Asked if the symposium might be expanded in the future to cover other European countries including the Vatican, Al-Khateeb said the symposium, organized by the Higher Education Ministry, was mainly focusing on cooperation between Saudi and French universities. “I do not think the ministry would object if this idea was presented to it,” he said.
The following is text of the interview:
What is the idea behind the annual symposium? What is its objective in light of other initiatives in the same field?
The symposium was held as part of Custodian of the Two Mosques King Abdullah’s scholarship program. There are other initiatives at nongovernment organizations and dialogue center level. However, with regard to the symposium between Saudi and French universities, its primary aim was to add a scientific color to such initiatives. As you may know, dialogue is not specifically scientific. There are also no scientific patterns to dialogue. The support of the Ministry of Higher Education and the participation of renowned French and Saudi universities would give meaning to the dialogue and a scientific color.
What is the role of the scholarships in the dialogue?
In my opinion, the scholarship program of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah was considered the biggest dialogue operation in the history of the Kingdom. There are more than 130,000 Saudi male and female students studying abroad under this program. With their different levels of education, culture, values and principles, they will be leading the largest ever dialogue in the history of the Kingdom. This dialogue in fact is a strategic option that would bring civilizations close to each other and create rapport among countries.
Through your own experience, how do you envisage the present and future roles of the cultural attachés?
The cultural attachés have two main roles to play. Their primary role is academic. They should monitor scholarship students and provide them with all out support until they complete their education. They should also cater to all their needs and requirements. The second role is cultural. They have to make the cultural presence of the Kingdom felt in the foreign countries as well as Arab and Islamic civilizations.
What is the best mechanism for executing the scientific partnerships with international universities?
The scientific partnership has many faces. There are partnerships where international institutions are invited to visit the countries with whom they have agreements as in the case of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which have international universities. The other kind of partnership is through twinning the local universities with international ones, which to my mind is the best kind of partnership. The international and local universities can agree on certain projects which they will implement together. This will build up trust and enable the universities to maintain complete partnerships at the end of the day. Every university is the child of its environment. It will have its own local characteristics but without losing its special features.
Can you give us an idea about the most successful programs in France?
At present, there are a large number of students in France. There are more than 1,200 Saudi male and female students studying various specialties including medicine, law, public relations, political science and others. The most important scientific program between Saudi Arabia and France is the medical cooperation and training of doctors to obtain specialist certificates. The two countries have signed an agreement enabling Saudi doctors to practice medicine in France on an equal footing with their French counterparts. They are being treated the same way as French doctors, especially in obtaining specialist certificates and receiving high-quality training. The Saudi doctors in France are now reaping the fruits of this agreement. When they obtain the certificates qualifying them to be specialists in their fields, they seek to obtain the licenses that will enable them to practice medicine in France for a year.
How do you evaluate the Ministry of Higher Education’s support for cultural attachés?
I think cultural attachés are living in a golden age, especially due to the ministry's material and moral support. The attachés receive complete material and moral support from the minister himself and all other officials at the ministry. Therefore, there is now clarity of vision in execution and implementation. The attachés are considered a pivotal element in the cultural process. They follow up the affairs of more than 130,000 Saudi students studying in many countries under the king's program. They are also presenting Saudi culture to foreign societies. In fact, the ministry’s support for cultural attachés was the main element behind their successes.
What is your evaluation of the results and recommendations of the Saudi-French symposium on civilization dialogue that recently concluded in Jeddah?
As one of the organizers, it will be difficult for me to evaluate the symposium. This is left to others to do. However, from my humble view, I can say the symposium was successful judging by the working papers presented in it and the level of interventions. The French delegates and the Saudis were all of high levels. They both dealt with very important issues. The symposium has definitely succeeded in bringing the two countries much closer to each other. The issues discussed represented the backbone of the cultural and civilization interaction between the east and the west represented by the presence of Arab and Islamic thought. The recommendations were important. They will further boost existing scientific and academic cooperation especially in the medical and cultural fields. I hope the recommendations will be fully implemented and activated on the same lines as the second symposium held last year and which resulted in the establishment of two important university chairs in the field of finance and ethics and the other in Islamic economy. These two chairs were established through the extensive support of the minister of higher education and the generous donations of Sheikh Muhammad Hussain Al-Amoudi.
Why does this dialogue not include all the European countries, particularly the Vatican?
This symposium was specially designed for the Saudi-French dialogue. The Ministry of Higher Education is the organizer of the symposium. I do not think the ministry would object if this idea was presented to it. However, the main focus will remain on Saudi-French academic cooperation.
Why do not we include dialogue among civilizations in school syllabuses?
In fact this is an important issue discussed in detail in the symposium. Our students will not absorb the significance, mechanisms and tools of such dialogue if they were not taught about them in the syllabuses in the first place. Such dialogue should be held within families and also general schools. The Kingdom is hosting more than 4 million foreigners of different nationalities and cultures. We should further consolidate cultural cooperation with them with a view to benefiting from their various cultures. The Saudi citizen travels to more than 40 countries while in fact he is in the right place. We should benefit from the German experiment which worked to absorb all different cultures in its own culture. We should interact with this large number of various cultures in our country to enrich our own culture.
