MWL, Uffizi Gallery sign agreement to promote intercultural dialogue

Muslim World League (MWL) Secretary-General Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa and Uffizi Gallery Director Eike Schmidt sign a cooperation agreement to develop education and training and promote intercultural dialogue. (SPA)
Updated 17 October 2018
Follow

MWL, Uffizi Gallery sign agreement to promote intercultural dialogue

  • The agreement aims to implement educational and cultural initiatives to support plans to develop education and training and promote intercultural dialogue
  • It also aims to introduce people of the world to the true and real Arab and Islamic culture

JEDDAH: The Muslim World League (MWL) has signed a cooperation agreement with the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy, one of the oldest and most famous art institutions in Europe, and the second-largest and most important museum in the world ranking after the Louvre in Paris.

Mohammed bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the MWL, and Eike Schmidt, the museum’s director, signed the agreement, which aims to implement educational and cultural initiatives to support plans to develop education and training and promote intercultural dialogue.

It also aims to introduce people of the world to the true and real Arab and Islamic culture, so as to deepen the bonds of friendship and mutual understanding between the communities from these regions and other societies.

The two parties will organize seminars and training courses, given the important role the museum plays in promoting cultural exchange and educational activities.

Schmidt stressed the museum’s deep understanding of the importance of the cultural exchange project with the MWL. He also underlined the museum’s keenness to organize joint initiatives to achieve mutual goals.

The museum, which was established in 1581, contains a large number of world-famous works.


Saudi Hajj Ministry suspends Umrah firm, overseas agent over contract violations

Updated 29 December 2025
Follow

Saudi Hajj Ministry suspends Umrah firm, overseas agent over contract violations

  • Company failed to provide accommodation for a number of Umrah pilgrims, despite these services being documented in the contractual programs, ministry says

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah on Sunday announced the suspension of an Umrah company and its overseas agent for failing to provide accommodation services for pilgrims in line with approved contractual programs.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said the company’s failure constitutes a clear violation of regulations governing services for Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques.

It noted that a number of pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom without secured accommodation, despite these services being documented in the contractual programs.

This prompted immediate regulatory action against the company and its overseas agent under the established legal frameworks, the ministry said. 

Pilgrims circumambulate the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Makkah in this photo taken earlier this month. (SPA)

"The measures are intended to safeguard the rights of affected pilgrims, prevent a recurrence of such violations, and ensure the continued enhancement of service quality," it added.

Last June, the ministry suspended seven Umrah companies due to deficiencies in providing transport services to pilgrims.

In an earlier report quoting the Hajj Ministry and the General Authority for the Care of the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques, SPA said more than 1.7 million Muslims from all over the world arrived in the Kingdom to perform Umrah during Jumada Al Akhira alone.

Also referred to as Jumada Al Thani, Jumada Al Akhira is the sixth month of the Islamic calendar. For Hijri year 1447, this sixth month ended on December 20, 2025 in the Gregorian calendar.