Egypt's Supreme Council of Culture signs cultural cooperation agreement with Saudi Aramco

CAIRO – 10 November 2020: Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a press release on November 10 about the signing of an agreement between the Supreme Council of Antiquities and Saudi Aramco, regarding the holding of an archaeological exhibition entitled “Shatr el-Masjid” {Bisector of the Mosque}.

The statement stated:

“The Supreme Council of Antiquities and Saudi Aramco signed a cultural cooperation agreement between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding the holding of an archaeological exhibition entitled "Shatr el-Masjid", at the Ethraa Museum in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, from the end of this month (November), for a period of 24 months.

During the signing ceremony of the agreement, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mustafa Waziri expressed his happiness with this cooperation, which sheds light on the cultural and historical ties of the two countries, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, based on the belief of the Egyptian state, represented by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, in the prominent role that museums play in societies and the importance of cooperation among them to achieve its mission, adopting the idea of disseminating and exchanging cultures between brotherly Arab countries, especially the revival of the glory of Islamic civilization by unveiling the most important archaeological treasures through the window of exhibitions."

For his part, Nabil el-Naim, vice president of Saudi Aramco affairs, thanked the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities for this fruitful cooperation that brings the two countries together, which have always been linked throughout their long history with historical, economic, political and cultural ties. 

He pointed out that the exhibition deals with the establishment and history of the mosque, through a display of about 130 artifacts from different parts of the Islamic world, and to shed light on the masterpieces of Islamic art that were associated with the mosques, which in turn reflects the progress and prosperity of  the Islamic civilization and Islamic arts.

Furthermore, Waziri explained - according to what was stated in the statement - that the conclusion of this agreement came after the approval of the Board of Directors of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, after discussion with the Foreign Exhibitions Committee, which approved the list of artifacts to be displayed, which includes 84 artifacts from the holdings of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo,