He confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that he is the most legitimate president of the Arab World Institute
Wednesday – 14 Ramadan 1444 AH – 05 April 2023 CE Issue Number [16199]
Paris: Anisa Makhaldi
Jack Lang, former French Minister of Culture and President of the Arab World Institute since 2013, expressed his admiration for the developments taking place in Saudi Arabia. Lang, a candidate for a fourth term at the head of the institute, considered himself the most popular president of this cultural edifice.
Lang said in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat: “We have very good relations with Saudi Arabia, and I had known about the (Al-Ula) project more than twelve years ago when it was in its infancy, and at that time I expressed my admiration for the project, and years later I was asked to participate in the council.” The consultant, and I was pleased with this invitation, and I still remember the words of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on the occasion of a ceremony held in this region, where he thanked me for my support, and I confirm here that I admire the amazing and rapid development witnessed by this country, and all manifestations of traditional and contemporary culture and its brilliant talented artists ».
About the institute, Lang says: “My relationship with this institution did not begin when I assumed my duties as president, but rather years before that when I was appointed Minister of Culture in May 1981. Everyone knows that this period known as (huge architectural projects) witnessed the construction of cultural monuments such as the glass pyramid.” In the Louvre Museum, the Opera Bastille, the new National Library, the Pompidou Center, and many others, but few know that the first proposal I made to President (Mitterrand) when I assumed my duties included finding a headquarters for the Institute of the Arab World in the heart of Paris, and then I launched a competition for young architects to design The building of the institute was won by John Nouvel, who was a junior architect at the time, and he is now more famous than the knowledgeable fire, as you know, and for all these reasons and others, I consider myself the most legitimate president of the Arab Institute.
