Riyadh – Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman patronized on Wednesday the opening ceremony of the National Festival for Heritage and Culture “Al-Janadriah 31” and the grand annual camel race organized by the Ministry of National Guard.

During the ceremony, King Salman decorated prominent Saudi figures Ahmed Muhammad Ali, Abdurahman al-Shobaili, Safiyyah Bint Saeed Bin Zagar with King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Class on the occasion.

Several distinguished guests were present at the opening ceremony including: Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, deputy prime minister and minister of interior of the UAE, Sheikh Jassem Bin Hamad Al Thani, personal representative of the emir of Qatar; Asaad Bin Tareq Al Said, personal representative of Sultan Qaboos Al-Said of Oman; Dr. Hilmi Al-Namnam, minister of culture of Egypt, and Ali Hasanov, assistant president of Azerbaijan for political and social affairs.

Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal Bin Bandar, Minister of the National Guard Prince Miteb Bin Abdullah, and several other princes, ministers and senior officials also attended the ceremony.

The King, Emir of Kuwait and the Bahraini King distributed prizes for the first five winners of the camel race. The King and other guests also attended a dinner banquet hosted on the occasion.

The first two winners also received Prize of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan which was handed over by Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

Minister of National Guard Prince Meteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who is also President of Supreme Committee of Janadriah Festival, delivered a speech in which he welcomed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the guests of Janadriah Festival.

He highlighted the importance of Janadriah Festival, saying that it reflects the sacrifices of our fathers and grandfathers who unified the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and built its glory.

For his part, Egypt’s Minister of Culture Hilmi al-Nimnim delivered the speech of the guest of honor country in which he expressed his delight with the participation of the Arab Republic of Egypt as “the guest of honor” at the festival. He thanked the kind invitation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, stressing that this reflects the depth of relations between the two countries.

On the sidelines of the festival, King Salman opened the pavilion of King Abdullah Foundation, where he was received by Prince Turki bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation, and Prince Saad bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Finance Mohammed bin Abdullah al-Jadaan, Acting Director General of Saudi Custom Ahmed al-Hagbani and a number of officials. He toured the pavilion and was briefed on the contents of the pavilion.

The King also opened the pavilion of the Arab Republic of Egypt (the guest of honor of the festival), where he was received by Egyptian Minister of Culture Hilmi Al-Nimnim and Egyptian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Nasser Hamdi.