Culture can serve as driving force for growth: al-Kuwari

HE Dr Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kuwari, adviser at the Emiri Diwan and Qatar’s candidate for director-general of the Organisation of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), has underlined that culture can serve as an engine for sustainable development and global economic growth. Al-Kuwari made the remarks on Thursday night in his capacity as president of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad), at Forum d’Avignon, held over two days in the French city of Bordeaux, under the title “Role of culture in the field of business”. It was attended by ministers of culture in the EU, Bordeaux Mayor Alan Juppe, and a large number of intellectuals, economists and researchers. Dr al-Kuwari said that the sustainable development goals beyond 2015 considered culture as a driving force in terms of world trade “which is not limited to material goods but also depend on a vibrant creative economy.”He called on the world’s countries, especially the countries of the South, to focus on creative industries in their development strategies, stressing that the rich cultural resources and creative competencies available in the developing countries can be a driving force for economic development and contribute to the global economy as a whole. He stressed the existence of a relationship between culture and trade which, he said, was clearly highlighted in the preamble of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Charter.Dr al-Kuwari noted that the 13th Congress of Unctad, which was held in Doha, had highlighted the importance of business and the creative industries, and cultural ones in particular. He called on Forum d’Avignon to customise Global Day of Culture in order to conduct a dialogue in which the world’s cultures and unite against extremism and terrorism, a proposal that was welcomed by the participants of the forum.