Salama: We prepare a strategic plan for the role of culture in economic recovery

The Minister of Culture, Dr. Ghassan Salama, held a press conference at the headquarters of the National Library – Al -Sanayeh, during which he touched on the role of the Ministry within the framework of the cultural initiative that specializes in three jobs. He said: “The first job is sovereign, given that the Minister of Culture since his appointment becomes the largest real estate owners in Lebanon and for the most important artifacts. His first basic task becomes defending these sites and addressing the continuous encroachments on them, and it has occurred that some of the encroachments were stopped in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior. Among this function also, the ministry is valuable to the national memory and also the restoration of what can be restored from this heritage built with the help of brotherly and friendly countries.”

He revealed that “during the coming hours, they will be understood with a source to obtain a gift estimated at 3 and a half million dollars to restore short Beit al -Din and Prince Amin.”
He said: “The Ministry’s budget for the next year will include half a million dollars to restore the UNESCO Palace, in addition to projects that began to prepare for, such as the Great Teatro, which needs 20 million dollars for restoration and we started an international campaign as the first million came from the Emirate of Sharjah, thankfully, and we are working with UNESCO to activate the campaign, and there is a project that will end the train station in Mar Mikhael, we work with a gift from the Italian government and under the supervision of UNESCO, to rehabilitate the site To be a cultural center, with the French state, we work on the Ashmoun site.
He added: “I am pleased to inform you that in this edifice it will be a workshop after we obtain a gift of 750 thousand dollars to start signing part of the library’s contents, and the work is continuing to secure gifts for the Ministry’s holdings such as the paintings that are under restoration because we are working to restore the building and not built.”
He continued: “The second function of the Ministry of Culture is its role in economic recovery, where every artistic product, whatever it is, is a commercial nature such as the film, the book, the painting .. Also, the artwork expresses the national identity. So, the Ministry of Culture plays an essential role in the process of economic recovery. All those who have related to cultural industries will be called during the workshops of each sector separately to develop its sector and how to benefit in order to grow and become more effective and contributing to the national economy, in the next December In front of those invited to inform them of the strategic plan in economic recovery. Also, the international conference that the Ministry of Economy is attending and after agreement with Minister Amer Al -Bassat, decided to allocate a full day for the contribution of the Lebanese culture to economic recovery.
He concluded: “The third job that the Minister of Culture is to activate, manage and develop the debate on the national identity and the future of the country.” (National Agency)