Saudi Arabia to work with Pakistan to engage youth, fight intolerance: Awwad bin Saleh

ISLAMABAD, Sep 7 (APP):Saudi Information and Culture Minister Dr Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad Friday said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia would work together in the realm of media to engage youth, fight intolerance and spread the message of acceptance of the great religion of Islam.
In an interview to Pakistan Television here, he said it was very important for Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to collaborate in fighting intolerance and for the acceptance of our great religion.
“I think media is well positioned today to play a major role in spreading the message of
acceptance and fighting misperceptions.”
He said the two countries will work together and Saudi Arabia will get assistance of Pakistan so that it can convey message of the Vision 2030 of his leadership which focused on the youth.
Pakistan was similar to Saudi Arabia where most of the population was below the age of 30, he said adding the two countries were facing a similar situation and would like to cater to the needs of the youth through media programmes.
The minister told that during his visit, he will explore the areas of cooperation with Pakistan. “My visit reflected the strong bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.”
He said he would hold meetings with the Prime Minister and the cabinet ministers.
He underlined the need for expanding cooperation among Pakistan Television and Saudi Television and official news agencies, adding he was impressed with the progress made by Pakistan Television.
Referring to the coverage of Hajj by Pakistani media, he said still there was a lot of room for collaboration in the different fields of media. He said the media should offer solutions and reach out to
the youth and engage them in the narrative as espoused in the Vision 2030 of the Saudi leadership.
Media of Saudi Arabia would look forward to work together with Pakistani media to learn from their experiences in the field of drama and films, he added.
Earlier the minister along with Minister for Information Chaudhry Fawad Hussain visited different sections of Pakistan Television.
They also had an informal chat about the prospects of bringing improvement in the conditions of media organizations.