Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH)

:: Prince Sultan bin Salman, chairman of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH), said relations between Saudi Arabia and South Korea are deep rooted, distinguished and historical, and enjoy particular attention from King Salman.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday in the South Korean capital Seoul, on the occasion of the launch of the exhibition “Trade routes in the Arabian Peninsula — the impact of Saudi Arabia through the Ages,” which will be opened to the public at the National Museum starting Monday, the prince said ties between the two countries are a model of friendly and constructive relations, and that both sides are keen on cooperating in various fields.

Prince Sultan also emphasized the strong economic relations between the two countries and stressed that King Salman wishes to further strengthen cooperation and build greater economic and cultural relations with South Korea.

Through the exhibition, he said, the Kingdom seeks to shed light on its historical roots and its successful civilizations, as well as on its important role in the history of human civilization, and hopes that friends in South Korea will learn more about the country’s economic and cultural importance.

“We, in Saudi Arabia, do not live on oil tankers and fields, but rather are a country with a glorious and ancient history that is moving toward the future with speed and confidence,” he said.

“The history of our country is important to us, and like the Korean people, we also come from a great history and civilization.”

Prince Sultan highlighted the excellence of Saudi Arabia, which was honored by God to serve as the birthplace of Islam, from where it spread to all parts of the world, and referred to the Kingdom’s continuous efforts to preserve its cultural heritage through the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ program for Care and Rehabilitation of Cultural Heritage in the Kingdom.

Prince Sultan urged South Koreans to visit the exhibition, which will run for three months and includes a large collection of rare and valuable artifacts from the Kingdom, dating back 2.2 million years.

The exhibition opens under the joint patronage of Prince Sultan and the South Korean minister of culture and tourism.

A group of Saudi scholarship students will participate in the exhibition to describe to Korean visitors, in their language, the areas in the Kingdom where the pieces were excavated; also participating will be two craftsmen who participated in the training program organized by the SCTH in Korea for skilled Saudi craftsmanship.

South Korea is the second stop of the exhibition in Asia, after China, and the 12th internationally. It was held in five US cities, four European countries and at the King Abdulaziz International Cultural Center in Dhahran.

The exhibition contains 466 rare artifacts that showcase the Kingdom’s cultural heritage starting with the Stone Age and prehistoric era, through the pre-Islamic period, early Arab civilization, the Islamic period, and three periods since the Kingdom’s founding, up to the reign of Kindom’s founder King Abdulaziz.