JEDDAH: The Saudi culture minister on Tuesday pledged to utilize the Kingdom’s “cherished” heritage treasures to help promote “creativity and cultural expression” throughout the world. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan Al-Saud was speaking after the Cabinet decided to shift responsibility for running the Kingdom’s national heritage activities from the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage (SCTH) to the Ministry of Culture. Thanking the country’s leadership for supporting the cultural sector and the commission for its efforts, the prince said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the land of culture and heritage treasures. It has embraced many human civilizations and is rich in history. “The ministry will work to serve national heritage, and will continue to encourage the cultural sector to reflect the truth of our ancient past and contribute to our efforts to build a future that cherishes heritage and opens new and different outlets for the world for creativity and cultural expression. This is what the ministry will work on.” Prince Badr on Tuesday also visited the Prince Faisal bin Fahd Fine Arts Hall, in Riyadh, that was reopened the day before. The gallery was the first government building devoted to fine arts in the capital and is also considered the largest such venue in terms of floor space, covering 5,600 square meters. The minister shared a video of the reopening on Twitter and said: “The Prince Faisal bin Fahd Fine Arts Hall is spacious and tells the stories of beautiful older times of the arts movement in Saudi Arabia. Today, it is back to its glory as it was 34 years ago.”