Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, award-winning Saudi artist and writer

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Updated 12 December 2020
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Abdulrahman Al-Soliman, award-winning Saudi artist and writer

Abdulrahman Al-Soliman is a Saudi artist and writer who has won major local and international awards in an artistic career spanning five decades.

Al-Soliman has participated in many Saudi exhibitions outside the Kingdom, as well as Arab and international biennials.

His work has been shown in countries around the world, and he has held personal exhibitions in Dammam, Riyadh, Jeddah, Tangier, Cairo, Kuwait, Paris and Doha.

He served as head of the department of fine arts at the Society of Culture and Arts in Dammam from 1987 to 2000. Before that he was head of the media department and director of activities.

Over the course of his career, his writing has been featured in publications such as Asharq Al-Awsat, the Emirati newspaper Al Bayan and Independent Arabia.

He has also previously served as editor of the fine arts section for the Al-Youm newspaper in Dammam.

Al-Soliman has written several books on the arts in Saudi Arabia, including “The Journey of the Saudi Fine Arts Movement” (2000), considered the first book on Saudi fine arts.

He has also published an autobiography, “Abdulrahman Al-Soliman: The Color of Space and the Scent of Memory.”

Al-Soliman was the first president of the board of the Saudi Society for Fine Arts, where he served from 2007 to 2012. He is a founding member of the Friends of Fine Art society in the GCC.

He was awarded first prize given in exhibitions of contemporary Saudi art in 1985, 1988 and 1989, and also received third prize for a painting in the Sharjah International Biennial of Arts, 1997.

Al-Soliman has been honored by the Misk Art Institute in Riyadh as a pioneer of the fine art movement in the Kingdom.

His work has been sold at international auctions such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s, and acquired by museums, and international public and private collections.


Arab, EU diplomats arrive in Riyadh for meeting on Syria

Updated 11 min 41 sec ago
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Arab, EU diplomats arrive in Riyadh for meeting on Syria

  • World powers push for Syria’s stability after the fall of Bashar Assad

RIYADH: An expanded ministerial meeting on Syria is being hosted by Saudi Arabia on Sunday in the capital Riyadh as world powers push for stability after the fall of Bashar Assad.

Syria’s Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani arrived in Riyadh on Saturday evening, according to Saudi state news agency SPA.

Foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq were all in Riyadh ahead of Sunday’s meeting plus envoys from the United Kingdom and the United States.

Other top Arab and Western officials are expected to attend.

The meeting, which is expected to focus on Syria post-Assad, comes as the country’s new administration urges a lift of sanctions by the West to help in the country’s recovery.


KSrelief continues humanitarian outreach in Syria, Yemen

Updated 12 January 2025
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KSrelief continues humanitarian outreach in Syria, Yemen

RYADH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) continues with its humanitarian activities in Syria and Yemen with the distribution of food supplies, health kits and prosthetic services.

In the town of Beit Yashout, Jabla District of Syria’s Latakia Governorate, 499 families each received boxes containing a bag of flour as well as personal care kits on Saturday, state news agency SPA reported.

In Jindires of Aleppo Governorate, KSrelief distributed 1,476 food boxes and 1,476 health kits while in Talbiseh of Homs Governorate the aid agency on Thursday handed out to 86 families food parcels, each containing a 10-kilogram bag of flour, along with winter kits and personal care kits on Thursday.

This initiative is part of the Kingdom’s continuous humanitarian efforts, through KSrelief, to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people during various crises and hardships, SPA reported.

Meanwhile in Yemen, the Project for Operating Artificial Limbs and Rehabilitation Center in Taiz provided medical services to 434 beneficiaries who lost their limbs in December last year.

The center, being supported by KSrelief, delivered 1,613 services including the delivery, measurement and maintenance of prosthetic limbs, as well as physical therapy and specialized consultations.


UAE, Syria foreign ministers arrive in Riyadh

Updated 11 January 2025
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UAE, Syria foreign ministers arrive in Riyadh

  • Welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Saudi Deputy FM Waleed Al-Khuraiji

RIYADH: Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, the UAE deputy prime minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, arrived in Riyadh on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

He was welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Al-Khuraiji.

Sheikh Abdullah is in the Kingdom to attend an expanded ministerial meeting on Syria to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on Sunday, SPA added.

New Syrian foreign minister Asaad Al-Shaibani also arrived in Riyadh on Saturday evening to participate in the ministerial meeting.

He was also welcomed at King Khalid International Airport by Al-Khuraiji.


Saudi Arabia condemns attack on Chad’s presidential palace

Updated 11 January 2025
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Saudi Arabia condemns attack on Chad’s presidential palace

  • The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, involved gunmen attempting to storm the palace

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday strongly condemned the recent attack on the presidential palace in N’Djamena, Chad, which left 19 people dead, including a soldier guarding the complex, and injured others.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement reaffirming Saudi Arabia’s steadfast support for Chad’s security and stability, while rejecting any actions that threaten the country’s peace, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

In its statement, the Ministry extended heartfelt condolences to the family of the fallen soldier and to the government and people of Chad. The Kingdom also wished a swift recovery for those injured in the assault.

The attack, which occurred on Wednesday, involved gunmen reportedly linked to Boko Haram attempting to storm the presidential palace, prompting a fierce battle.

The Chadian government confirmed that 18 attackers from a 24-member commando unit were killed in the fighting, alongside one security personnel. Tanks were deployed to secure the area.


GCC secretary general receives New Zealand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Updated 11 January 2025
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GCC secretary general receives New Zealand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia

  • Al-Budaiwi congratulated Kingston on his appointment as New Zealand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, wishing him success in his duties

RIYADH: Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council Jasem Al-Budaiwi recently received New Zealand’s Ambassador to the Kingdom Charles Kingston at the General Secretariat’s headquarters in Riyadh.

Al-Budaiwi congratulated Kingston on his appointment as New Zealand’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, wishing him success in his duties, the General Secretariat wrote in a report.

During the meeting, they also discussed a number of topics of mutual interest, notably the progress of negotiations for the free trade agreement between the GCC countries and updates on the joint action plan between the two sides. They also exchanged views on several regional and international issues.​