RIYADH: The National Guard Ministry has renewed its invitation to Germany to join the National Festival for Heritage and Culture, Janadriyah, as the guest of honor.

“We are very happy to accept the invitation again,” German Ambassador to Kingdom, Boris Ruge, told Arab News on Monday.

“German participation was originally scheduled for February 2015 at the invitation of the Saudi National Guard, but the festival had to be postponed for one year due to the passing away of King Abdullah,” Ruge said.

“As I have said on many occasions in the past, it is a recognition of the excellent state of our bilateral relations to have been chosen as ‘Guest of Honor’ for the most outstanding cultural heritage festival in Saudi-Arabia,” he added.

He noted that the German participation will take place under the slogan “Germany — Land of Ideas: Innovation has tradition”, and said that there will be a large pavilion, to be situated in the center of the festival site, in which the Saudi public will be able to learn more about Germany and experience the rich diversity of German cultural heritage and traditions.

“Germany is seeking further dialogue with the people of Saudi Arabia in this regard, and we hope that the German Pavilion can contribute to the mutual understanding of each other’s culture,” Ambassador Ruge said.

He also mentioned that representatives of the German cultural, arts and folklore sectors, as well as renowned academics from Germany, will take part in the festival.

The festival will kick off under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Feb. 3, 2016, at the Janadriyah heritage village located on the north-western outskirts of the capital of Riyadh.

The festival has been organized annually since 1985 by the National Guard, but was postponed last year for the first time due to the passing away of the late King Abdullah, who himself was a significant supporter of the festival.