SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities & Communities
Institutions: Ministry of Culture
India and Saudi Arabia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cultural Cooperation, reinforcing their growing strategic partnership beyond trade and energy. The MoU was inked during a bilateral meeting between the two countries’ culture ministers in Riyadh on 9 November 2025, which featured high-level delegations and cultural-diplomatic dialogue.
The agreement sets up a framework for joint cultural festivals, museum and heritage collaborations, artist exchanges, youth participation programmes, and archival-and-digital-heritage projects. This move signals both nations’ intent to diversify ties into the ‘soft-power’ domain—leveraging shared historical links, diaspora relations and the rising significance of culture in international diplomacy.
For India’s policy makers, the MoU offers a vehicle to advance the country’s “Neighbourhood First” and “Global South” outreach strategies by deepening engagement in the Middle East beyond energy and trade. The cooperation also aligns with India’s aim to promote its cultural industries, heritage tourism and creative economy—leveraging bilateral platforms to augment export-ready services, heritage projects and youth mobility. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 push for cultural and entertainment expansion complements India’s cultural policy objectives, making this MoU strategically timed.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: In what ways can India and Saudi Arabia integrate creative-industry cooperation—film, design, digital art, and heritage tourism—into formal trade and investment frameworks under their strategic partnership?
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