OSAKA: The Saudi Arabia Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka celebrated the Kingdom’s 95th National Day on September 23.
This milestone showcased Saudi Arabia’s rich culture and heritage, as well as its dynamic transformation under Vision 2030, emphasizing national pride and achievements.
Around 2,000 VIP guests, international delegates, media, and Japanese public attended the ceremony at the Expo Hall “Shining Hat,” featuring the national anthems and addresses from dignitaries.
Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Falih, Minister of Investment of Saudi Arabia, stated, “On the 95th National Day, we celebrate our nation’s unity and the seventy years of friendship with Japan.
This partnership has strengthened our economies and ties. At Expo 2025 Osaka, we proudly showcase our heritage through the Saudi Pavilion, bridging our peoples. Guided by King Salman and Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is moving toward a prosperous future.”
Dr. Ghazi bin Faisal Binzagr, Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Japan and Commissioner General of the Saudi Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka, remarked, “Celebrating Saudi National Day at Expo 2025 is a proud moment for the Kingdom, highlighting our strong partnership with Japan.
“This day allows us to share our history, present significance, and future aspirations while showcasing our transformation under Vision 2030. We celebrate our achievements on a global stage and continue to foster partnerships for a peaceful and sustainable future.”
The event featured cultural performances, including the Ardah, a traditional Saudi sword dance with live music. Visitors enjoyed an engaging experience, exploring Saudi Arabian culture through sound, crafts, and performances on pop-up stages throughout the Expo site.
A capacity Expo 2025 Osaka crowd then lined the Grand Ring to witness the Saudi Arabia Parade, a vibrant display of Saudi culture and heritage. The parade, with performers starting from the Expo Hall, ‘Shining Hat,’ stopping in front of the Saudi Arabia Pavilion for a cultural performance, and continuing to the Expo Arena, ‘Matsuri,’ was a highlight of the day.
Visitors then gathered at the National Day Hall, ‘Ray Garden,’ for a special screening of Films from Saudi Arabia, produced by the King Abdulaziz Center for World Culture (Ithra).
The screening was a unique opportunity to experience the richness of Saudi cinema and its contribution to the global cultural landscape.
The festivities concluded with an impressive evening at the Expo Arena “Matsuri.”
The National Day Concert showcased a blend of traditional and modern creativity, featuring the Ardah rhythms and performances by emerging Saudi artists.
A unique collaboration included a Japanese Noh player, a Saudi Nay player, and drummers from both cultures.
A highlight was the special National Day edition of “Tales of Water,” nominated for the World Expo award for ‘Best Presentation.’
This dynamic show combined live performance and immersive projection mapping to compare Japan’s Ama divers with Saudi Arabia’s pearl divers on a quest for the largest pearl.
Saudi National Day is part of over 700 events at the Saudi Arabia Pavilion during Expo 2025 Osaka. Visitors can explore Saudi culture, heritage, and art through programs like Ahlan Wa Sahlan and The Botanist Augmented Reality experience, as well as musical performances at the Cultural Studios.
The pavilion features immersive galleries showcasing The Evolving Cities, Sustainable Seas, Unlimited Human Potential, and The Pinnacle of Innovation, highlighting the Kingdom’s global impact.
Saudi Pavilion at Expo celebrates National Day with spectacular festivities
https://arab.news/5m5ub
Saudi Pavilion at Expo celebrates National Day with spectacular festivities
- Around 2,000 VIP guests, international delegates, media, and Japanese public attended the ceremony
- The event featured cultural performances, including the Ardah, a traditional Saudi sword dance with live music
India plans AI ‘data city’ on staggering scale
- ‘The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius’
NEW DELHI: As India races to narrow the artificial intelligence gap with the United States and China, it is planning a vast new “data city” to power digital growth on a staggering scale, the man spearheading the project says.
“The AI revolution is here, no second thoughts about it,” said Nara Lokesh, information technology minister for Andhra Pradesh state, which is positioning the city of Visakhapatnam as a cornerstone of India’s AI push.
“And as a nation ... we have taken a stand that we’ve got to embrace it,” he said ahead of an international AI summit next week in New Delhi.
Lokesh boasts the state has secured investment agreements of $175 billion involving 760 projects, including a $15 billion investment by Google for its largest AI infrastructure hub outside the United States.
And a joint venture between India’s Reliance Industries, Canada’s Brookfield and US firm Digital Realty is investing $11 billion to develop an AI data center in the same city.
Visakhapatnam — home to around two million people and popularly known as “Vizag” — is better known for its cricket ground that hosts international matches than cutting-edge technology.
But the southeastern port city is now being pitched as a landing point for submarine internet cables linking India to Singapore.
“The data city is going to come in one ecosystem ... with a 100 kilometer radius,” Lokesh said. For comparison, Taiwan is roughly 100 kilometers wide.
Lokesh said the plan goes far beyond data connectivity, adding that his state had “received close to 25 percent of all foreign direct investments” to India in 2025.
“It’s not just about the data centers,” he explained while outlining a sweeping vision of change, with Andhra Pradesh offering land at one US cent per acre for major investors.
