The launch of celebrations of the Niger capital, Niamey, as the African region’s capital of Islamic culture for 2012, is slatted for Thursday under the patronage of Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou. The event will be presided over by President Issoufou, Prime Minister Brigi Rafini and Parliament Speaker Hama Amadou and 27 ministers from ISESCO member countries.
According to a press release APA received Wednesday, cabinet ministers, along with the diplomatic corps accredited to Niamey, and eminent personalities from the realms of education, science, culture and arts will also grace the occasion. Dr Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri, Director General of the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), will be attending together with ISESCO Culture and Communication Director Dr Mustafa Ahmed Ali.
It could be recalled that ISESCO decided to celebrate Niamey as “capital of the Islamic Culture” from 5th July 2012 to 13th April 2013, a period during which colloquiums, conferences, training sessions, festivals and various contests will be held. The capital of the Islamic Culture is a project, which is part of the rotating programme aimed at selecting cities as capital of the Islamic culture to strengthen solidarity among Muslim countries. Niamey was chosen at the end of the Third Islamic Conference of the Ministers of Culture, which was held in Doha, Qatar from 29 to 31 December 2011.
