Thouraya Obaid, executive director of the UN Development Programme for 10 years Shura Council member Thouraya Obaid was picked on Wednesday as Saudi Arabia’s person of the year. The Saudi MP will be granted the King Abdel Aziz medal as part of the country’s national heritage and culture festival, popularly known as Janadriyah.
Obaid was among 30 women appointed by King Abdullah in January to the Shura Council, a historic move that allowed women for the first time to be part of Saudi Arabia’s formal advisory body.
She has been an executive director of the UN Development Program for 10 years and regarded as the first Arab woman to hold a UN post.
Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz Al-Tuwaijri, deputy chairman of the festival’s supreme committee, made the announcement in a press conference Wednesday, adding that China was going to be the festivals\' key guest.
Janadriyah, located 42 km northeast of Riyadh, is a venue for the Kingdom\'s national festival. It has hosted more than 300 thinkers and writers throughout the festival\'s history, Al-Tuwaijri said.
A number of Arab singers will take part in the opening ceremony, which will kick off April 3.