Title: Al-Shalah: Iraqis Are Committed to Solid Culture and Celebrating All Arts

The President of the Babylon International Festival of Cultures and Arts, Ali Al-Shalah, emphasized on Friday, during the opening of the festival's eleventh edition, that Iraqis are committed to solid culture and to celebrating all arts in the presence of brothers and friends. In his speech at the opening of the 11th Babylon Festival, Al-Shalah stated that "this year's festival is held with a large, vibrant, and qualitative presence from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, India, and Turkey, along with our Arab brothers from Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine, the guest of honor for this edition where we chose Palestinian culture. We condemn the occupation authorities for preventing our guest, the Palestinian poet Nada Younes, from crossing and coming to Iraq, and we also welcome friends from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait." He added, "In Babylon, where humanity wrote its first letters and laws and created and recited its first epics, we Iraqis are determined on solid culture and celebrating all cultures and arts with the presence of brothers and friends. We thank the Prime Minister Mohammed Shiaa Al-Sudani who devoted much of his effort and time to make this edition happen and to facilitate this presence."