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Crown prince’s Acropolis visit puts Saudi-Greek cultural partnership in the spotlight

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was welcomed to the iconic Acropolis in Athens by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (AFP)
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Updated 28 July 2022
Arab News
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Crown prince’s Acropolis visit puts Saudi-Greek cultural partnership in the spotlight

  • A memorandum of understanding between the two countries was signed in a special ceremony at Acropolis Museum
  • Saudi-Greece annual bilateral trade of $1 billion includes the exchange of cultural goods, services and skills
Updated 28 July 2022
Arab News

RIYADH: When Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman paid a visit on Tuesday night to the archaeological site of the Acropolis in Athens, the purpose was more than to take in the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek antiquity to the world.

The crown prince went to the Acropolis Museum, where he and Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Arabia and Greece for cooperation in the cultural field.

The agreement was signed from the Saudi side by Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, the Kingdom’s culture minister, who previously visited Athens in May 2021 to discuss aspects of cultural cooperation.




The crown prince oversaw the signing of a major cultural cooperation deal with Greece. (SPA)

During his visit to the Acropolis, the crown prince, who was accompanied by Prime Minister Mitsotakis and Dr. Lina Mendoni, minister of culture and sports of Greece, was briefed on the ancient buildings, areas and theaters contained within the archaeological site.

Those include the Erechtheion, the Belvedere, the Parthenon, the Theater of Dionysus, and the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater.

Later in the evening, the crown prince was honored with a dinner banquet at the Acropolis Museum hosted by Mitsotakis. Opened to the public in 2009, the world-famous archaeological Acropolis Museum houses Bronze Age, Roman and Byzantine artifacts discovered at the site of the Acropolis.




Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his delegation are shown around the Acropolis by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. (AFP)

Hosting the agreement-signing ceremony at this venue was rich in symbolism. “This has never happened before,” Adonis Georgiadis, the Greek minister for development and investment, told Arab News on Tuesday ahead of the Saudi crown prince’s arrival in Athens.

“We have never signed an MoU with any other country in the world in the Acropolis Museum. And this is just a (message) from our prime minister to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to show how we feel, that you are something very exceptional to us.”

FASTFACT

In September 2021, the Saudi-Greek Business Council was set up to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

The Saudi-Greece annual trade relationship of almost $1 billion includes the exchange of cultural goods, services and skills. One of the main initiatives to come out of a strengthened Saudi-Greek cultural relationship are “Cultural Weeks” to be held in both countries.

These events could facilitate collaborative outcomes such as cultural heritage exchanges, art exhibitions and festivals




Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud, Saudi minister of culture, and Dr. Lina Mendoni, minister of culture and sports of Greece, signed a major cultural cooperation deal. (SPA)

During Prince Badr’s previous visit, both Greece and Saudi Arabia pledged to work together to protect tangible and intangible heritage, counter illicit trafficking of cultural property and manage the impacts of climate change.

“As Saudi Arabia’s cultural transformation continues at pace, we welcome closer relations with our Greek friends,” Prince Badr had said after meetings with Mendoni.

“Both our countries have a deep and rich heritage, stretching back millennia, and a shared outlook on the positive power of cultural exchange, and the need for its protection and preservation. As the Kingdom looks to share its culture with the world, Greece’s insight and experience has much to offer us.”

In the run-up to the Saudi crown prince’s visit, Alexis Konstantopoulos, Greek ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Arab News: “We have deep-rooted ancient civilizations and tourism, because people-to-people relations are extremely important and Greece is a very touristic country.

“On culture, hopefully we’ll be able to do groundbreaking things together. We can explore the possibilities to do archaeological excavations and the setting up of museums together.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s delegation included the ministers of energy, sports, foreign affairs, culture, trade, investment, telecommunications and information technology, as well as the national security adviser.

The official engagements on Tuesday evening began with a formal reception ceremony for the crown prince at Maximos Mansion, the official seat and residence of the prime minister of Greece.

Afterward, the two leaders held a bilateral meeting, during which Mitsotakis welcomed the crown prince and wished him and the Saudi delegation a pleasant stay.




Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis briefs the Saudi crown prince on the important features of the Acropolis. (SPA)

Later, Mitsotakis and the crown prince held an expanded meeting in the presence of the delegations of the two countries.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of the agreement to establish the Saudi-Greek Strategic Partnership Council, besides the exchange of a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two countries.

The deals sealed by the two sides included:

  • an agreement in the field of energy
  • an MoU for cooperation in the field of sports
  • an agreement on cooperation in the fight against crime
  • an agreement to protect and encourage investment between the two countries
  • an MoU for cooperation in the health field
  • an agreement for cooperation in the military field
  • an MoU in the field of scientific and technical cooperation
  • a technical cooperation program in the fields of standards and quality
  • an agreement of cooperation in the field of documents and archiving, and
  • a submarine cable agreement.

The agreement in the field of energy, signed between Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Nikolaos Dendias, the Greek minister of foreign affairs, sets a framework for cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, electrical interconnection, exporting electricity to Greece and Europe, and clean hydrogen and its transfer to Europe, according to a Saudi Press Agency report.

The agreement will also look at working together in the areas of energy efficiency and the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, while adopting the circular economy approach to carbon and technologies to reduce the effects of climate change.




Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is shown around the Acropolis. (SPA)

Both countries will explore the scope of reusing, transporting and storing the gas, as well as capturing carbon directly from the air.

As for the submarine cable agreement, it is designed to promote digital transformation and innovation in the fields of energy, including cybersecurity, while working to develop qualitative partnerships to localize materials, products and services related to all energy sectors and their associated supply chains, and technologies.

Concurrently, a strategic partnership was announced between the private sectors in the two countries to build a data cable project linking East and West, in a way that would ensure the smooth digital supply of data globally at a time when the world is witnessing an annual growth rate in data traffic of more than 30 percent.




Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Greek Minister for Development and Investment Adonis Georgiadis attend a Greek-Saudi business meeting in Athens on July 27, 2022. (Reuters)

Another high point of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit was the Saudi-Greek Investment Forum, held in Athens on Wednesday and attended by ministers and representatives of the private sector from both sides.

The forum discussed ways to enhance investment and economic cooperation between the two countries in all sectors. Dialogue sessions were held to discuss various topics, including communications, transport, logistics and energy.

Khalid Al-Falih, the Saudi minister of Investment, attended a meeting of private sector representatives, alongside Minister of Communications and Information Technology Abdullah bin Amer Al-Swaha and Minister of Commerce and Acting Minister of Media Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi.

The meeting culminated in the signing of 21 investment agreements in the fields of logistics, transportation, defense, renewable energies, manufacturing, environment services, aquaculture, import and export, engineering and agriculture. 

Saudi and Greek government and private sector representatives discussed mutually beneficial investment opportunities, further bolstering commercial relationships.

 

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Topics: CP Greece France Editor’s Choice Athens Acropolis Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Kyriakos Mitsotakis

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Greek coast guard says over 600 migrants rescued from 2 fishing boats

Updated 20 June 2025
AP
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Greek coast guard says over 600 migrants rescued from 2 fishing boats

  • The first fishing boat, carrying 352 people, was spotted overnight about 55 kilometers south of the tiny island of Gavdos
  • The second was found 90 kilometers south of the island of Crete with 278 people on board
Updated 20 June 2025
AP

ATHENS: More than 600 migrants were rescued overnight and early Friday from two wooden fishing boats found sailing miles (kilometers) from the southernmost part of Greece, the country’s coast guard said.

The first fishing boat, carrying 352 people, was spotted overnight about 30 nautical miles (35 miles, 55 kilometers) south of the tiny island of Gavdos, the coast guard said. Passengers were rescued by a ship from the European border patrol agency FRONTEX, aided by a coast guard patrol boat and four other vessels.

The second was found 50 nautical miles (about 60 miles, 90 kilometers) south of the island of Crete with 278 people on board. The passengers were picked up by a passing Portuguese-flagged cargo ship. In both cases, the migrants were transported to Crete.

There was no immediate information on the nationalities of those on board the two fishing boats.

Another two boats carrying migrants were located in the same area on Thursday, the coast guard said. One, carrying 73 men, was found south of Gavdos and another with 26 people, including one woman and three minors, was found near the coast of southern Crete.

The coast guard said those on the smaller boat told authorities they had set sail the previous evening from Tobruk in Libya, and had each paid smugglers either 4,000 euros ($5,500) for their passage to Greece. Two Sudanese teenagers, one aged 16 and the other 19, were arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling after other passengers identified them as having been operating the boat.

Greece has been on one of the preferred routes into the European Union for people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia for decades.

Arrivals from neighboring Turkiye to the east and the Libyan coast to the south spiked last year, with Greece recording more than 60,000 people arriving — the vast majority by sea — in 2024, compared to just over 48,000 the previous year, according to figures from the UN refugee agency.

As of June 15 this year, a total of 16,290 arrivals were recorded, with more than 14,600 of those by sea.

With authorities closely patrolling the eastern sea border with Turkiye to prevent migrant boats reaching nearby Greek islands, smugglers appear to be increasingly opting for the much longer and riskier Mediterranean Sea crossing from the north African coast to the southern tip of Greece, using larger boats into which they can cram more people.

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Health officials issue warnings as UK bakes in the first heat wave of 2025

Updated 20 June 2025
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Health officials issue warnings as UK bakes in the first heat wave of 2025

  • Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius
  • The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England
Updated 20 June 2025
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LONDON: British health officials are warning people across the country to take precautions when out in the sun as the UK bakes under its first heat wave of the year.

Temperatures are expected to peak at 34 degrees Celsius (93 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of eastern England on Saturday following a week of unusually warm weather, according to the national weather agency the Met Office. That’s about 12 C (22 F) higher than normal for this time of year.

The UK Health Security Agency has issued an amber heat health alert covering all of England because of increased health risks for people over 65 and those with heart and lung problems.

“Heat can result in serious health outcomes across the population, especially for older adults or those with pre-existing health conditions,” Dr. Agostinho Sousa, head of the UKHSA, said in a statement. “It is therefore important to check on friends, family and neighbors who are more vulnerable and to take sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.”

Saturday is expected to be the hottest day of the heat wave, with temperatures falling slightly on Sunday and dropping back into the more normal temperatures next week, the Met Office said. The heat alert is currently scheduled to remain in effect until Monday morning.

Unusually, temperatures in London this week have been higher than in many parts of Western Europe. That’s because the high temperatures are not the result of hot air moving north from the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa as is often the case, the Met Office said.

Instead, this weather system originated in air high over the Atlantic Ocean south of Greenland. As it approaches the UK, it descends toward ground level, causing it to warm rapidly, Chief Meteorologist Matthew Lenhert said.

That said, it has been plenty hot in Europe too. Aviation enthusiasts attending the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, north of Paris, this week sought the shade of a Boeing 777’s wing, cooling off as temperatures hovered in the low 30s C (mid-80s F.)

Met Office scientists this week published research showing that climate change is increasing the likelihood of extreme high temperatures in the UK The chance of temperatures exceeding 40 C (104 F) is now more than 20 times higher than it was in the 1960s, the researchers said.

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In Java, Indonesian conservationist leads efforts to protect endangered silvery gibbons

Updated 20 June 2025
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In Java, Indonesian conservationist leads efforts to protect endangered silvery gibbons

  • Rahayu Oktaviani won the 2025 Whitley Award, which recognizes grassroots conservation leaders
  • There are fewer than 2,500 Javan gibbons in the wild, half of which live at a national park in West Java
Updated 20 June 2025
Sheany Yasuko Lai

JAKARTA: It was deep in the heart of an Indonesian rainforest in West Java that Rahayu Oktaviani, known as Ayu, first heard the “song” of the Javan gibbon. 

She had her first encounter in 2008 while visiting the Mount Halimun Salak National Park for an undergraduate research project that required her to obtain a voice sample of the primate. 

After waiting patiently for two weeks, coming in and out of the forest, she finally heard a Javan gibbon make its distinctive call. 

She recalled how the sound she described as melodic and haunting had created a hush, as it echoed throughout the forest. 

“It’s like the most beautiful song that I ever heard in my life. It’s so amazing,” Ayu told Arab News. 

“They are non-human primates, but they can have like this beautiful song that can make all of … the creatures in the forest just keep silent.” 

In the 17 years since, Ayu has dedicated her life to protecting the endangered animals, which are also known as “silvery gibbon,” or “owa jawa” locally.

This undated photo shows a Javan gibbon sitting on a tree branch in West Java, Indonesia. (Whitley Awards) 

A vast archipelago stretching across the equator, Indonesia is a top global biodiversity hotspot and home to over 60 species of primates, about 38 of which are endemic to the country. 

“Maybe a lot of people know about the orangutan, about the rhino, about the tiger, but how about the overlooked species, just like, for example, the Javan gibbon? Not so many people know about them,” Ayu said.  

Fewer than 2,500 Javan gibbons remain in the wild today, according to an estimate by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. About half of them live in the 87,000-hectare Mount Halimun Salak National Park, where Ayu and her team have laid the building blocks for grassroots conservation of the endangered species. 

The gibbons rely on a continuous canopy for movement and foraging, making them particularly vulnerable to forest fragmentation and habitat degradation. As around 55 percent of Indonesia’s 270 million population lives in Java, the survival of the endemic species found only in the island’s forests is threatened by deforestation and illegal animal trafficking. 

“With the situation in Java, where only like 10 percent of the natural forests are remaining, it means the forest itself should be intact. The forest itself still needs to be there not only for the Javan gibbons, but also for the other species that need this habitat for their lives,” Ayu said. 

In 2020, she co-founded the conservation nongovernmental organization Kiara to expand efforts to save the Javan gibbon, believing that a key aspect in protecting the species was to engage the local community. 

When she started out as a primatologist, spending much time in the forest to study the gibbons, Ayu did not realize that she was neglecting the very people who lived alongside the primates. 

She recalled a question a villager posed at the time, a woman named Yanti, who was curious as to why Ayu always went to the forest but rarely stopped by the village. 

“That’s a really casual and simple question, but it kept me thinking about what I’ve been doing so far. Is there something that I’ve been missing?” Ayu said. 

Yanti’s query eventually led her to realize that she needed to do more with the community. 

“We want to build together with the communities, where actually the gibbon can be something that they can be proud of,” she said. “Community engagement is 100 percent the core for conservation because without community, we cannot do everything.” 

Ayu has employed people from Citalahab, a small village enclave located within the national park where locals make a living working in tea plantations or as rice farmers. Eight of them now work in the field alongside Ayu and her team to monitor the gibbons in the wild. 

With Kiara, she also established the Ambu Halimun initiative, which involves 15 local women between the ages of 17 and 50 in ecoprinting workshops and financial literacy training. 

In April, Ayu won the prestigious Whitley Award, which recognizes achievements in grassroots conservation, to advance her work in protecting the Javan gibbons. 

With 50,000 British pounds ($67,000) from the award, Ayu plans to scale up her programs with Kiara to mitigate threats from human activities and to protect the gibbons’ habitat. 

This includes developing a data management system to enhance park-wide conservation efforts, training the park rangers in biodiversity monitoring techniques, and guiding conservation strategies. 

The 38-year-old, whose role models are “the Trimates,” primatologists Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey and Birute Galdikas, has faith that humans can live in coexistence with wildlife. 

“Actually, if we put aside our ego, we are part of the ecosystem itself. We are not separated from the ecosystems, so it means we have to have more balance with nature,” she said. “And to do that, we also have to respect what else (is) actually living together with us in these ecosystems.” 

Ayu said the Whitley Award served as good momentum to raise awareness about the species she loves dearly, the Javan gibbons. 

“I believe not so many people are aware of the existence of the Javan gibbon, so it’s the right momentum to share the love for the Javan gibbon and make people care about it,” she said. “Because how can you care about the species if you know nothing about them?”

With the award and the coverage that it garnered internationally, Ayu is also hopeful about inspiring a new generation of conservationists from Indonesia. 

“I think women also play a good part to be conservationists in the future … It’s also about … regeneration: the importance of nurturing the new generation of conservationists and primatologists from Indonesia, especially because we need more and more people who work in this field.” 

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UK working with Israel to arrange charter flights out of Tel Aviv, Lammy says

Updated 20 June 2025
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UK working with Israel to arrange charter flights out of Tel Aviv, Lammy says

Updated 20 June 2025
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LONDON: Britain is working with Israeli authorities to arrange charter flights for British nationals from Tel Aviv when the airport reopens, foreign minister David Lammy said on Friday.
“As part of our efforts to support British nationals in the Middle East, the government is working with the Israeli authorities to provide charter flights from Tel Aviv airport when airspace reopens,” Lammy said in a statement.
Israel’s main international gateway, Ben Gurion Airport, closed last week due to Israel and Iran’s spiralling air war.
On Monday, the British government advised its citizens in Israel to register their presence with British authorities, saying it was monitoring the situation and considering options for assistance.
It said it had increased its logistical support for citizens who have turned to overland routes into Jordan and Egypt.

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Taiwan to hold recall election for lawmakers that could reshape parliament

Updated 20 June 2025
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Taiwan to hold recall election for lawmakers that could reshape parliament

Updated 20 June 2025
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TAIPEI: Taiwan will hold a recall vote for around one quarter of parliament’s lawmakers — all from the main opposition party — next month, the election commission said on Friday, a move which could see the ruling party take back control of the legislature.
While Lai Ching-te won the presidency last year, his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lost its parliamentary majority, leaving the Kuomintang (KMT) and the much smaller Taiwan People’s Party with the most seats.
The KMT and the TPP have passed a series of measures, including swingeing budget cuts, angering the DPP, though the campaigns to gather enough signatures for the recalls were led by civic groups.
The opposition has 62 of parliament’s 113 seats and the DPP holds the remaining 51. The recall votes for 24 KMT lawmakers will take place on July 26, the election commission said.
The DPP has given full support for the recalls, releasing a video this week calling on people to vote yes and “oppose the communists” — a direct reference to China and what the party says is the opposition’s dangerous cosying up to Beijing.
The KMT has vowed to fight what it calls a “malicious recall” that comes so soon after the last parliamentary election in January 2024.
“The KMT calls on the people of Taiwan to oppose the green communists and fight against dictatorship, and vote ‘no’,” the party said in a statement after the recall vote was announced, referring to the DPP’s party colors.
The KMT says its engagement with China, which views separately-governed Taiwan as its own territory, is needed to keep channels of communication open and reduce tensions.
China has rejected multiple offers of talks from Lai, branding him a “separatist,” and has increased military pressure against the island.
Recall campaigns against DPP lawmakers failed to gather enough valid signatures.
For the recalls to be successful, the number of votes approving the measure must be more than those opposing it, and also exceed one-quarter of the number of registered voters in the constituency, so turnout will be important.
If the recall votes are successful, there will be by-elections later this year to select new lawmakers.
Taiwan’s next parliamentary and presidential elections are not scheduled until early 2028.

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