Culture
Ministry Signs MoU with Arab Music Academy

Muscat,
11 Nov (ONA) — The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth today signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with the Arab Music Academy, which is affiliated with
the Arab League, to enhance and develop cultural cooperation between the two
sides in the fields of music, singing, and folk arts.

The
agreement was signed on behalf of the Ministry by Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al
Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for
Culture, and on behalf of the Arab Music Academy by Dr. Kifah Fakhoury, the
Academy’s Secretary-General.

The
MoU included cooperation in organizing music festivals and events, artistic
forums and programs serving interested parties, and establishing musical bands
and music libraries. It also covers the exchange of experts and artists, and
the exchange of artistic, scientific, audio, and visual publications and
releases, contributing to the enrichment of the Arab cultural scene and the
development of creative industries. In addition to encouraging joint artistic
production between the Sultanate of Oman and Arab countries using Omani folk
arts as musical and vocal works suitable for presentation.

Dr.
Ines Abdel-Dayem, President of the Arab Music Academy, stated that the ongoing
cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the Academy is considered a model
of constructive interactive cooperation that benefits both parties and
simultaneously serves the issues of Arab music and its civilizational message.
She noted that it contributes to preserving the rich and diverse Arab musical
heritage, ensuring its survival in the memory of future generations to inspire
new creations from this authentic heritage.

She
added that this distinguished cooperation has yielded several significant
achievements, most notably: The Academy’s nomination of the Oman Centre for
Traditional Music, which led to it being awarded the International Music
Council Prize in 2002; The Oman Centre for Traditional Music being awarded the
Arab Music Academy Prize for the category of musical groups and institutions in
2005; The Omani artist Amir Awadh winning the Arab Music Composition
Competition organized by the Academy in 2023 and the appointment of Ru’a Al
Lamki, the Sultanate of Oman’s representative to the Academy, as Head of the
Folk Musical Heritage Committee for four years.

It
is noteworthy that during the signing of the agreement, the book “Folk
Musical Arts in the Arab Countries and the Risk of Their Extinction” was inaugurated,
which comprises 16 research papers presented at the scientific symposium held
during the 27th session of the Arab Music Academy General Conference, hosted by
the Sultanate of Oman, represented by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and
Youth, from 13-15 March 2023.

—Ends/AG