Prime Minister Bishr Khasawneh Sunday inaugurated the celebrations of Irbid: The Capital of Arab Culture 2022, held at the Yarmouk University in Irbid this evening.
Khasawneh conveyed His Majesty King Abdullah II’s greetings and thanks for holding the event and making the celebrations a success, which would declare Irbid as the capital of Arab Culture 2022.
The premier, who is the Chairman of the Supreme National Committee for the Irbid Celebrations, said that since its establishment, Jordan has been an “incubator of culture and intellectuals; a sponsor of creativity and innovators and a supporter of everything that opens broad horizons to entrench a serious national culture…”
He added, “government will spare no effort in supporting culture and creativity in a manner that preserves our future heritage and our rich national heritage, which is part of our great Arab heritage.”
During the ceremony, Khasawneh emphasised that choosing Irbid as the capital of culture is a “national event par excellence and a Jordanian national occasion that we all celebrate.”
He noted that choosing Irbid as the capital of Arab culture and Madaba as a city for Arab tourism this year would add to Jordan’s “glory and honour.”
He said that making the event a success is the responsibility of the state, the people, the private sector and the civil societies.
He added that the celebrations come as the Kingdom is still celebrating its second centenary, explaining that the state strives for a “new start” entitled “Moving Towards the Future” through three concomitant tracks: the progressive political modernisation, the vision of economic modernisation and the modernisation of the public sector, whose outputs the specialised committee will submit to the government soon.
He said: “This important event, although it bears the name Irbid, is a national event par excellence.
The declaration of any Jordanian city as the capital of Arab culture or a forum for any Arab or international event is a Jordanian national occasion that we all celebrate from the north of the Kingdom to its south and from its east to its west.”
Source: Jordan News Agency