Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman with Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa at the opening of the Janadriyah festival on Wednesday. (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman launched the 30th Janadriyah festival here on Wednesday.

He was received at the festival by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and the National Guard Minister Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, the head of the Janadriyah festival organizing committee.

During the ceremony, the king listened to a welcome speech by Prince Miteb, who said: “This festival is one of the country’s prominent cultural projects founded by the late King Abdullah 32 years ago to annually celebrate and appreciate Saudi Arabia’s rich culture and heritage.”

He added: “We are very glad that King Salman has contributed in the same way as King Abdullah to foster knowledge, science, culture and heritage.”

Prince Miteb welcomed the German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier, saying that it was a great honor to welcome the friendly country of Germany as a guest of honor.

“Germany is one of the most influential countries today, that has significant weight politically, economically, scientifically and culturally. We consider its presence here as an important added value,” he said.

Walter-Steinmeier thanked King Salman and the Saudi government and people for hosting his country. “It is a great honor for Germany to participate as guest of honor at the Janadriyah festival, for which we have been preparing for two years,” he said.

“It is my great pleasure at this moment to invite the esteemed audience and Saudi people to visit our pavilion to experience German daily life, tradition, culture and innovations,” he said.

The king honored Abu Aqeel Al-Dhahiri, a prominent Saudi linguist and religious scholar, by granting him the King Abdul Aziz First Class Medal for his services in his field.

The sponsors of the festival were honored. They were SABIC, Al-Waleed Humanitarian Foundation, Saudi Aramco, STC, and the Saudi Research and Marketing Group, the publisher of Arab News.

Azzam Al-Dakhil, the adviser at the royal court and SRMG managing director, received the plaque.

Following the speeches and honoring of sponsors, a prominent Saudi traditional poet recited a very emotional poem, bringing the king to tears.

The poet, Mishal bin Mihmas Al-Harthi, who is also an officer in the Saudi Army, hailed King Salman for defending the Two Holy Mosques and the Kingdom from the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.

King Salman watched the 19-km Arab camel race in which around 1,200 racers from the Kingdom and Gulf countries participated. He honored the top five winners with prizes worth SR1.5 million and several luxury cars.

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