JAKARTA - Indonesia and Saudi Arabia are expanding cooperation in the cultural sector. The focus includes intangible cultural heritage at UNESCO, museum management, to film, literature, fashion, and craft collaborations.
The commitment emerged in a meeting between the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Indonesia Fadli Zon and the Minister of Culture of Saudi Arabia Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan AlSaud at the Ministry of Culture Office, Jakarta, Monday, April 13. From the meeting, it was seen that culture began to be encouraged to become a more concrete area of cooperation between the two countries.
Fadli Zon emphasized that culture has a strategic position in the midst of global dynamics. "Indonesia is a megadiversity country, this diversity reflects the strength of a living and ever-evolving cultural power from time to time," said Fadli. He also mentioned that the relationship between Indonesia and Saudi Arabia for 76 years was not only built through formal diplomacy, but was also supported by cultural closeness and shared values.
One of the issues discussed was Saudi Arabia's support for Indonesia's proposal at UNESCO regarding the extension of the Arabic Calligraphy Intangible Cultural Heritage: Knowledge, Skills, and Practices. Indonesia has submitted a formal request through diplomatic channels and expects Saudi Arabia's support as one of the countries in the element.
In the field of museums and cultural heritage, the two countries are exploring cooperation in conservation, curatorial exchange, collection digitization, joint exhibition development, and strengthening human resource capacity. Indonesia also opens opportunities for collaboration in the development of archaeological sites.
In the creative economy sector, attention is directed to opportunities for the co-production of historical themed films, talent exchange, strengthening industry networks, to investment in cinema infrastructure. Cooperation is also directed to creativity, fashion, literature, artist residency programs, as well as the translation of works between Indonesian and Arabic languages.
Prince Bader stressed that Saudi Arabia is open to various opportunities for cultural collaboration. "The party is open to all ideas and opportunities for collaboration that can be developed together," said the statement delivered at the meeting.
During the visit, Prince Bader also visited the National Museum of Indonesia. At that location, he and Fadli Zon reviewed the Early History Exhibition which contained the narrative of the Nusantara journey, from geological evolution to ancient human life. The two also saw the Misykat Exhibition which featured the early traces of Islam in Indonesia since the 7th century.
After the National Museum, the delegation continued their visit to the National Gallery of Indonesia. There, the Saudi delegation reviewed the exhibition Indonesian Women Artists #4 on the Map: Art, Science, Technology, and Culture as well as the National Gallery's permanent collection, including the works of Raden Saleh and Affandi.
The two countries agreed to follow up on the opportunities that had been discussed and accelerate the implementation of joint programs. The direction of cooperation began to focus on programs that could be implemented, from museums and cultural heritage to films and translations of literary works.
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