Arab ministers unanimously reaffirmed Wednesday their declaration of the importance of the Arabic language as a platform for cultural and humanitarian integration and the need to protect it from the dangers currently facing the Arab world.

The ministers were participating in the 19th conference of Arab culture ministers in Riyadh this week under the aegis of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in a major drive to push Arabic to the forefront of the world’s live languages.

Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy stressed the need to use Arabic as a medium for the promotion of cultural and humanitarian integration.

To ensure its role as a platform for humanitarian integration, the Arabic language must be taken beyond its Arab borders with wider presence and productivity in the global digital content. The movement of translation from and into Arabic must also be encouraged, a resolution adopted at the conference said.

The resolution also stressed the need to use modern technology in teaching the Arabic language.

The conference observed that the Arab world is going through rapid changes and the onus of responsibility falls on the ministers of culture and education to enable the Arabic language to meet the challenges.

The conference declared that humanitarian citizenship cannot be achieved amid the blatant Israeli attacks on the Arab cultural heritage and the holy sites in Jerusalem.

“The Arabic language expresses thought, creativity and knowledge and is a symbol of the Arab identity and culture,” the declaration said.

“As a pillar of Arab identity, it should be of special interest in the Arab cultural policies and plans to raise the level of the Arabic language as part of the national plan with the provision of scientific objectives and output,” the resolution added.

It called for the celebration of the World Day of the Arabic language as an appropriate event to identify the Arab cultural and cognitive creativity at home and abroad.