Launching the Arab-African Literary Summit in Mauritania
Nouakchott (ST) – With the participation of Syria, the Arab-African Literary Summit was launched in the Mauritania capital, Nouakchott, on Monday and will continue until the 7th of this month, as part of the celebrations declaring Nouakchott as the Capital of Culture in the Islamic World for the year 2023.
Delegations representing 23 Arab and African countries are participating in the summit including the heads of writers’ unions in most Arab countries. At the opening of the summit proceedings, the speakers emphasized support for the Palestinian people in order to regain their rights, and the necessity of joint Arab cultural action to advance the reality of the Arab countries.
The head of the Arab Writers Union in Syria, Dr. Muhammad Al-Hourani stressed that the participation in this summit comes within the framework of coordinating cultural efforts and joint work between writers’ unions in Arab countries. He pointed out that the main focus of the sessions of this summit was titled “The Pen and the Constants of Identity and Values.”
The Secretary-General of the Arab Writers Union, Dr. Alaa Abdel Hadi, indicated the necessity of developing Arab cultural work in a way that befits the nation and the challenges it faces.
President of the Union of Mauritanian Authors and Writers, Dr. Khalil Al-Nahwi, highlighted the importance of preserving the Arab nation’s constants.
The Secretary-General of the Palestinian Writers Union, Murad Al-Sudani, stressed the necessity of standing with the Palestinian people in their insistence on adhering to their land and preserving their identity, denouncing the repeated Zionist aggression on Syrian lands.
For his part, Abdallah Drami, President of the Association of Sahel Writers in Mali, called for the support of Arab culture in African countries, especially in light of the challenges it faces from the “Francophones” who want to eliminate Arab culture and identity in Africa.
A number of Arab and foreign ambassadors and diplomats attended the opening of the summit activity, the Chargé d’Affairs at the Syrian Embassy in Nouakchott, Nahed Hammoud, and a large number of writers and intellectuals in Mauritania.
Najla Khoury