Pakistan 'speeds up' process for strengthening cultural ties with Saudi Arabia

PTI leader Shibli Faraz said some Pakistani dramas, films were dubbed in Arabic as the Royal family watched 'Parchi'

Last year in June, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry had revealed that Pakistan will be taking stringent measures to strengthen its cultural ties with Saudi Arabia. Part of this would involve the latter incorporating the expertise of Pakistani artists in its upcoming art schools.

Chaudhry had then taken to his Twitter to share a message after his visit to Saudi Arabia. "Back in Islamabad after a very pleasant visit to Riyadh. Had the honour of attending the inaugural ceremony of Culture Ministry headed by a dynamic and spirited HRH Prince Bader Al Saud - a front line warrior of HRH Mohammad Bin Salman for his vision of cultural revolution in KSA," he wrote.

Now, in a recent development, Information Minister Shibli Faraz, while talking to Arab News, confirmed that the process of collaborating with Saudi Arabia has sped up. “Some dramas got dubbed and were sent there [Saudi Arabia]… some films... Some even the Royal family watched, like Parchi,” he told the publication. “There is a lot of similarity in our cultures, so on the basis of that, we would want that we can do more joint productions in films and dramas. This is a very powerful tool to bring two countries, two relationships, closer together.”

Faraz went on to reveal some productions are already in the pipeline and work on them would be sped up soon. “The government’s effort is to bring speed into this [process] and to create an institutional mechanism in which this process can go on without delay,” the federal minister added.

Chaudhry, who was the Information Minister, then, had shared the news after his visit to Riyadh in 2019. The politician had written, "Pakistani dramas’ dubbing in Arabic resumes to be shown in KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)."

Earlier, it was reported that iconic drama serial Dhoop Kinare would be aired in the country in Arabic. This was part of the cultural exchange programme initiated between Islamabad and Riyadh following Chaudhry’s visit. Three other serials have since been shortlisted for dubbing, namely Dhoop Kinare, Tanhaiyan and Aahat. But PTV officials cited delays in the dubbing process of the latter two due to budget constraints.

During the press conference on his Riyadh trip, Chaudhry had stated, “Pakistan is fully supporting the cultural revival of Saudi Arabia.” He had added, “The Indus civilisation of Pakistan is more than 5,000 years old and we have a diversified and rich cultural history. We have well-reputed performing art academies in the country and as Saudi Arabia is focusing on establishing new academies for performing arts, we would want to extend the support of our artists, including actors, film directors, as well as calligraphers.”

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