Riyadh- Under the patronage of The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, activities of the 30th Janadriyah cultural festival kicked off successfully, on Wednesday Jan. 3. The festival is organized by the Saudi Arabian National Guard, and attended by both Arabian and International audience.

During the inauguration, King Salman greeted attending guests, whom among were: King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Sheikh Jasim bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani personal representative of Prince (Emir) of Qatar, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan minister of interior and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Salman Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah the Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs in Kuwait, and Saad bin Mohammed Al-Saadi, Minister of Sports Affairs of the Sultanate of Oman.

King Salman also endowed Muhammad bin Umar bin Abd al-Rahman al-Aqil better known by “Abu Abd al-Rahman Ibn Aqil” with the King Abdulaziz Medal – First Class. Festival sponsors and supporters were also honored.

Under the auspices of King Salman, the German pavilion was launched. Germany being the honor guest of the 30th Janadriyah festival.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques launched pavilions of the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTH), the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aids, and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation, all of which are participating in the festival’s activities.

During the ceremony , Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard and chairman to the higher festival committee, also gave the National Guard’s ministerial speech. He welcomed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, saying: “This festival is one of the country’s prominent cultural projects founded by the late King Abdullah 32 years ago to annually celebrate and appreciate Saudi Arabia’s rich culture and heritage.”

The German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier, guest of honor, expressed his deep appreciation of attending the 30TH Janadriyah cultural festival. “It is my great pleasure at this moment to invite the esteemed audience and Saudi people to visit our pavilion to experience German daily life, tradition, culture and innovations,” he said.