Dhabi, Dhu-AlQa'dah 8, 1432 H., Oct 6, 2011, SPA -- Concluding in Abu-Dhabi this evening their 17th meeting, the Ministers of Culture of the Gulf cooperation Council (GCC) member states, recommended that the timetable previously set for cultural activities be implemented until the end of this year, including the Music Festival in Kuwait from 15-19 November, Visual Arts forum in Saudi Arabia from 9-19 October and the Cinema Festival in Qatar in the second half of December. The ministers also recommended that the previously approved mechanism to transfer the proposals of the cultural strategy to viable programs be survived and urged the concerned authorities to start designing cultural joint activities for the period from 2012 to 2016. They approved the proposal of holding cultural days of the GCC countries in Turkey. The ministers discussed cooperation with the ASIAN and directed for fixing a date for a meeting between the GCC and ASIAN to discuss the proposals authored by the GCC culture undersecretaries as agenda for that meeting. They were briefed on the recommendations to hold talks on cultural relations with the external world, including the European Union countries. In particular, it was recommended that a plastic arts exhibition in an European city in 2012, intellectual symposium on the GCC's culture in an European city in 2013, and a GCC cultural week in 2016 be held. Cultural cooperation with Russia, China the Paris-based Arab World Institute were discussed as well.
