RIYADH: HRH Princess Hussa bint Salman has expressed great interest in establishing deeper cultural exchanges with the United Kingdom. In a statement to Arab News, Princess Hussa said: “One can’t but have tremendous appreciation for the great British values of tolerance, fairness, support for the elderly and the needy.”
Princess Hussa said that both Islam as a religion and Saudi Arabia as a country share many of these values and that she looks forward to much more cultural exchanges.
Her Royal Highness’s comments come following a welcome reception that was given in her honor by Mrs. Huda Al-Mujarkech Collis, the wife of the British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and His Excellency the Ambassador Mr Simon Collis. The reception was in celebration of his return from accomplishing the Hajj pilgrimage this year. The event was attended by a number of wives of Ambassadors and Doyennes of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Riyadh, as well as by a number of prominent ladies of Saudi society, and notable ladies in the fields of media and culture.
In her welcoming address, Mrs. Mujarkech Collis underlined that the presence of Princess Hussa constituted further evidence, if need be, of Her Royal Highness’s continued noble endeavours to support the active role of Saudi women, in the fields of culture, knowledge and charity. She continued by highlighting the important cultural tradition that celebrating the return of pilgrims from the Hajj ritual represents, in Muslim communities and societies.
For her part, Her Royal Highness highlighted that the event in itself was a clear reflection of British society’s diverse cultural, religious and ethnic composition, and a testimony to the communality felt by British Muslims and Muslims all over the world, as part of the Umma (Muslim community). She went on to say that Their Excellences, the Ambassador and Mrs Collis, were the embodiment of the longstanding pluralism in British society.
Referring to the event itself, Her Royal Highness said that the reception further highlighted the leading cultural role played by British Embassies in the capitals of Arab, Islamic and Muslim countries. This gathering of wives of Ambassadors and prominent ladies of Saudi society emphasizes the considerable outreach that the British Embassy in Riyadh enjoys, Her Royal Highness added.
Meanwhile, Her Royal Highness said she was pleased when she attended a lecture delivered previously in Riyadh by the British Ambassador, which reflected his magnitude of knowledge and understanding of the Islamic religion, different sects, as well as Middle East issues. Her Royal Highness hopes that this strong and vast experience in the history of the region can be invested to enhance the true image of the region’s culture and project it to the rest of the world.
Princess Hussa availed herself of the opportunity to commend the Damascene touch that marked the event and that represented the culture from which Mrs Mujarkech Collis, the spouse of the British Ambassador, descends:
“The Damascene tradition and Levantine touch that mark this event are a true reminder of this age-old Arab culture, with all its depth and beauty; yet, it also reminds us of the current, desperate reality of Syria. Our hearts are filled with hope and prayers that peace will return and prevail there and that Syria will reclaim its historical place as a great civilization and a cradle of culture”.
Princess Hussa bint Salman calls for more cultural exchanges with UK
