RIYADH, 24 April 2004 — The Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) and the Louvre Museum of Paris signed an agreement for the promotion of cultural tourism in the Kingdom with an emphasis on the preservation of antiquities.
The accord, signed by Prince Sultan ibn Salman and Henry Lorait, Louvre secretary-general and director, also involves training Saudis in the management of museums and preservation of antiquities.
A spokesman of SCT said the agreement falls within the framework of economic, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries. It is the first major agreement following the ministerial council decision to transfer antiquities and museums from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education to that of SCT and represents part of the Kingdom’s policy to promote cultural tourism.
SCT is drafting regulations for the maintenance of museums and preservation of antiquities, he said.
Another aspect of the agreement calls for upgrading the national museum in the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center into an international museum. The move is deemed significant in the context of the Kingdom’s effort to attract international tourists. There will also be an exchange of antiques between the two museums as well as scientific cooperation between the two organizations.
Earlier last week, Prince Sultan announced that “convention, health and cultural tourism” would be the buzzwords of the future tourism promotion campaign in the Kingdom. He said the new campaign would be launched as soon as issues relating to issuance of tourist visas and security aspects were finalized.
Prince Sultan was named IT Personality of the Year in Saudi Arabia at a function held here recently. Ten government agencies, public and private sector organizations were also honored at the function organized by the Information & Technology Publishing (ITP) Co. of Dubai. The event coincided with GITEX show that concluded yesterday.
Prince Sultan said the honor given to him was a tribute to the Kingdom’s policy of promoting IT and, through it, e-government and other e-initiatives in the various government organizations
