(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage H E Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari has praised the ties of cooperation between the State of Qatar and the friendly Italy, particularly in the cultural and artistic fields.
In remarks to the Italian ANSAmed news agency on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of Giffoni Film Festival, Dr Al Kuwari said: "We are really proud that Doha has now become among the most important cities in the Arab world in a short period of time.
"In recent years the State of Qatar has witnessed major improvements in cultural infrastructure such as theatres, museums, cinemas... We are also proud that the only film festival for young people to be is in Doha," the Minister added.
The Minister expressed conviction in the role of culture in solving a lot of problems facing the world and said, "I am absolutely convinced that all problems we are currently experiencing were linked to culture. At a time when the international community would give due importance to culture then all extremism problems would be solved".
The Minister said the Giffoni Film Festival was an integral part of this idea, and plays an important role in this regard, and is a seed that would yield important posts for the future of peace worldwide. The Minister said the festival as highly successful international cultural event, and said that the cultural cooperation between Qatar and Italy would continue.
Mayor of the Italian city of Ercolano Ciro Bonetti and official in charge of tourism in the city Di Stasio met with the Minister who visited Italy at the head of cultural delegation to attend the opening ceremony of Giffoni International Film Festival.
Talks during the meeting dealt with the selection of the city as the Capital of Italian Culture 2016 and the possibility of Qatar's participation in this event by a cultural delegation. The Mayor and the official in charge of tourism in the city expressed the hope that Qatar will participate with a cultural delegation to organise cultural days there, saying that they have heard a lot about Qatar's exceptional success in the organisation of celebrations marking Qatar as the Capital of Arab Culture 2010. The Minister expressed his appreciation and admiration of the cultural and heritage legacy of the city.
For his part, the Mayor said the visit by the Minister of a country that represents one of the richest Arab countries in history and traditions, "proves the importance of our city in the global cultural scene", adding "during our meeting we demanded the organising of Qatari cultural days in the city of Ercolano and there will be coordination with the Embassy of Qatar regarding this issue."
Italian media highlighted the participation of Dr Al Kuwari in the festival. Italian newspaper Il Mattino also covered his visit to the city of Ercolano under the headlines "Qatar's Minister of Culture in the City of Excavations - Ercolano, Hand Shaking to Honour the Promise, in addition to the lengthy interview with Italian News Agency held with him.
The festival is one of the three major film festivals in Europe that attaches great importance to films for children and youth.
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