Khartoum - The 10th Conference of Ministers of Culture in the Islamic countries, in collaboration with the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and

the Secretariat General of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO) and in coordination with the Ministry of Culture under the auspices of President of the Republic Field Marshal Omer Al Bashir Kicked off yesterday.
The conference was participated by 40 states and 9 international organizations.
The conference, which is held under the slogan of “towards sustainable cultural development for the towns of the future’’, coincides with the conclusion of the activities of Sennar: Capital of Islamic Culture 2017 for the Arab area.
The conference is attended by more than 168 participants of ministers of culture of the member states of ICO, experts and representatives of concerned Arab, Islamic and international organizations.
The participants agreed that the conference is held amid complicated regional and international challenges, warning against the escalation of the extremism and terrorism which will affect negatively the human values and violate the international charters.
President of the Republic, Omer Al Bashir, who addressed the opening session, said that Sennar Kingdom ruled Sudan from more than 3 centuries by adapting the principle of diversity and multi-culture, calling for benefiting from the experience to build national unity which lead to political stability and rational political practice.
He added that the project of Sennar Capital of Islamic Culture 2017 for the Arab area will be an approach to economical, social and cultural development.
For his part, Minister of Culture, El-Tayeb Hassan Badawi said that Sudan is the land of civilizations and cultures.
He lauded the efforts of Omani Minister of Culture in the last two years along with Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) and the Secretariat General of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO).
He said that the national dialogue has opened the door wide for peaceful coexistence.

War against Extremism and Terrorism

The director of the Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO) affirmed that the conference copes with the era and responds to the cultural changes during this critical stage in which the racism and hatred waves are targeting the Islamic world and threatens the international peace and security.
Representative of Secretary General of the Islamic Cooperation Organization (ICO), Ambassador Hisham Yusuf said that the conference boosts the cultural relations among the Islamic countries, calling for protecting the Islamic heritage, calling on the international community to protect the Islamic culture in Palestine.