HE the Minister of Culture, Heritage and Arts Dr. Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al-Kuwari, who chaired the 17th session of the Arab Culture Ministers’ meeting, has on Tuesday handed the presidency of the 18th session to Bahrain’s Culture Minister Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al-Khalifa, as Arab culture ministers convened in Bahrain to celebrate Manama as the Arab culture capital. HE the Minister Dr. Al-Kuwari presented a revealing panorama and a clear vision of what has been accomplished on the Arab and local levels during Qatar’s presidency of the session, stressing that the 18th session is an extension of the Arab distinct cultural efforts that sincerely seek to achieve common Arab cultural vision. Addressing the audience, HE Dr. Hamad bin Abdul Aziz Al-Kuwari said that Qatar calls for the protection of Arab and Islamic monuments against destruction especially in Syria, demanding that Arab countries work in every way possible to preserve these monuments as a global Arab-Islamic heritage. HE Dr. Al-Kuwari proposed the addition of this issue to the session’s agenda as he noted that everyone will bear the historic responsibility of not doing enough to protect this heritage.