Saudi Arabia, China to cooperate in filmmaking
Saudis launch prestigious culture award in Beijing
Cairo: Saudi Arabia and China have agreed to cooperate in the film industry as their ties are flourishing.
The Saudi Film Commission inked a memorandum of understanding with the Bona Film Group, a Chinese film producer and distributor.
The pact also envisages cooperation in film distribution including Saudi movies in both countries, training, skill development and negotiations on establishing a joint film production fund.
The memorandum was co-signed by Abdullah Al Eyaf, the CEO of the Film Commission, and Nicolas Qi, the Chief Financial Officer at the Bona Film Group in the presence of Saudi Culture Minister Prince Badr bin Abdullah during his visit to China.
The entertainment industry has grown in Saudi Arabia in recent years as part of the kingdom’s efforts to diversify its oil-reliant economy. In April 2018, Saudi Arabia reopened cinemas for the first time in nearly four decades.
In yet another step to boost Saudi-Chinese links, Prince Badr bin Abdullah Thursday announced the inception of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Award for Cultural Cooperation between the two nations.
The award was unveiled at the King Abdulaziz Public Library’s branch at the Beijing University in the presence of officials from both sides and Chinese academics.
In December 2022, Chinese President Xi Jinping made a landmark visit to the kingdom where he met King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed.
During the visit, Xi said that his country would offer thousands of opportunities to teach the Chinese language in the Gulf countries. In 2020, Saudi education authorities started teaching the Chinese language in eight high schools as part of efforts to boost links between the two countries.
Earlier that year, the Saudi Crown Prince visited China where it was agreed to work out a plan for introducing the Chinese language into curricula of schools and universities in the kingdom.