JEDDAH: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, in conjunction with the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language, celebrated World Arabic Language Day in Jeddah on Sunday. The program is part of ongoing celebrations to mark the occasion, which was established by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in 2010. It has been celebrated on Dec. 18 each year since 2012, with the date chosen to honor the day in 1973 when the UN adopted Arabic as its sixth official language. The theme of the 2023 event was “Arabic: The Language of Poetry and Arts.”  OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha said: “Arabic is the language of the Holy Qur’an, and an integral part of the performance of worship and prayer in Islam. It is also one of the oldest, most widely spoken, widespread and used languages in the world.” At the 49th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers last March, held in Nouakchott, Mauritania, the OIC approved a ministerial decision to support World Arabic Language Day in regional and international forums, and thanked the Kingdom for its efforts in supporting the organization. Taha stressed the celebrations reflected the openness of the OIC’s general secretariat to those in the Kingdom and member states who aspired to give the Arabic language the status it deserved. He said cooperation between the OIC and the King Salman academy had resulted in many programs and activities during the past year, including training courses. The academys secretary-general, Abdullah Al-Washami, said: “The celebration shows the dimensions of strategic cooperation between the OIC and KSGAAL, and all the active partners, to support the presence of Arabic in international forums in general.” He added: “Besides being a strong symbol of national and Arab identity, Arabic holds a much greater importance for being the language of the Holy Qur’an." The Kingdom’s permanent representative to the OIC, Saleh Al-Suhaibani, discussed the importance of the Arabic language’s cultural heritage, pointing out it was first language of Muslims and their culture. In turn, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Shaheen Abdullayev, referred to the efforts made by his country to care for and teach Arabic. The celebration included two discussion panels, a poetry reading featuring poets from the organization’s member states, and an exhibition of Arabic poetry which all focused on the importance of the Arabic language and its contributions to building global civilization.