Second Gulf musical arts festival kicks off in Doha

The Second Gulf Musical Arts Festival kicked off at the Qatar National Theatre in Doha with the participation of 12 singers from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. "This festival is part of a series of varied cultural events which were held in Doha recently to highlight the importance of the arts in our lives, such as theater, music and singing," Qatari Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Hamad Abdul Aziz Al Kuwari said at the inaugural speech. He went on to say that "The interest in this art is closely linked to confirm the Arab cultural identity we cherish and cultural heritage which we are proud of." He pointed out that Qatar had hosted a conference earlier this month, the twenty-second Arab Academy of Music and it ended up with "significant findings and recommendations to promote Arabic music". "The Gulf Musical Arts Festival today comes to reinforce the same direction and expresses the cohesion and integration among the GCC countries, which confirms the common desire to preserve the Arab and Gulf musical heritage." Al Kuwari noted that the interest in music, singing and the rest of the other arts are part of the full cultural system which finds great interest from the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the National Strategy 2011/2016.