Saudi minister: Culture and technology build bridges between peoples

Art and technology can build economic bridges between peoples and countries, Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said on Thursday as works by two Saudi artists went on show at Russia’s leading art museum.

“To create the opportunities to build economic bridges, you also need to build understanding and trust,” Al-Falih said at the opening of an art exhibition in St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum celebrating the connection between technology and culture.

“This cultural dialogue is connected with how people think and how they feel, and with the emerging technologies of today, that creates this cultural understanding on which we can further build economic prosperity, for the people of Russia but importantly for people all over the world including the Middle East.”

The exhibition includes art by two Saudi women — Lulwah Al-Homoud and Daniah Al-Saleh — in a collection of 16 works by international artists on the theme “artificial intelligence and cultural dialogue.”

The launch of the show was one of the official opening ceremonies for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a three-day gathering of business leaders, policymakers and intellectuals sometimes known as the “Russian Davos.”

Al-Falih said: “Let’s look beyond the art itself and the creation of technology that we’ll be seeing, let’s get to appreciate the talent from different countries, let’s connect the dots between business, peoples all over the world, nations and between science and technology and innovation, and dream of a better tomorrow.”

He said the inclusion of the Saudi artists demonstrated the Kingdom’s social and cultural progress under the Vision 2030 strategy to transform the country. “It speaks to the cultural development as well as scientific development, as well as the capabilities of young people, especially women, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he said.