After that, Dr. Abdul Karim Al Zaid addressed the audience on behalf of the King Abdulaziz Public Library, thanking His Excellency the Minister of Cultural Affairs. Under the theme "Efficiency of Knowledge Management for Sustainable Development," this major Arab cultural gathering was patronized by Mohamed Zine El Abidine.." In organizing the meeting, he praised the sponsorship of the Ministry of Culture, represented by the National Library and Documentation Center and Public Reading Management. He highlighted Tunisia, the capital of Islamic culture, a city renowned for its Arab and global cultural heritage. During the meeting in Tunisia's capital, he expressed that our goals in the Arab world, especially in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Beji Caid Essebsi, are to establish a knowledge-based society that emphasizes science, knowledge, literature, and the arts as vital components of sustainable development. This will enable us to put humans at the forefront of our progress by increasing their sense of belonging. In addition, we will equip them with the necessary cognitive and technological skills for the 21st century. It is crucial to emphasize the significance of the Arabic Union Catalog initiatives that support our knowledge-based society. These initiatives are non-negotiable and include the Arab Innovators Initiative, the Arabic Union Catalog Initiative that will establish national catalogs, the initiative to include other languages in the Arabic Union Catalog database, and the initiative to improve Arabic content on the Internet through the Unified Arab Digital Library. Failure to adhere to these initiatives is not an option. We must work together to enhance cooperation and integration among Arab libraries and information centers in everything that serves our Arab and Islamic cultures. This is the only way to ensure a prosperous and thriving future for our society.

The meeting was productive and informative! There were various sessions and workshops focused on topics like innovation in library services, information accessibility, and achieving sustainable development goals. Dr. Abdul Karim, bin Abdul Rahman Al Zaid, led the first session, and notable experts in the field presented several working papers. It's interesting to see how different libraries approach these issues and find innovative solutions. In addition, the open discussion at the end of the session must have been a valuable opportunity for participants to share their own experiences and insights.

During the second session, Dr. Rajaa Ben Salama, the Director-General of the Tunisian National Library, chaired the meeting and presented four working papers. The first scientific paper, "Knowledge Economies in the Arab World," was presented by Dr. Mohammed Marayati, an expert in knowledge economies at the United Nations. Mr. Hassan Alia, a consultant in the Arabic Union Catalog, presented the second paper titled "Supporting the Arabic Union Catalog for Knowledge Society Libraries." The third paper, "Descriptive Files for the Arabic Union Catalog: An Infrastructure for the Arab Semantic Web," was prepared by Mr. Mohammed Adel from the Arabic Union Catalog and presented by Dr. Iman Mohamed on his behalf. The last paper, titled "Information Technology Applications in Arab Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities," was presented on behalf of Dr. Fayza Al-Bayati, the President of the Iraqi Association for Information, Libraries, and Documentation, by Dr. Taysir Fawzi Redaif. The session concluded with an open discussion among the participants. Additionally, an accompanying workshop titled "Innovation in Library Services and Its Role in Achieving Sustainable Development" was led by the expert and consultant Dr. Marshall Bridging and Dr. Khaled Al-Halabi, the President of the Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI).

Yesterday, I attended a scientific event where Mr. Elias Rabahi chaired the third session. The session was quite interesting as four working papers were presented. The first paper was titled "Access to Knowledge and the Role of Intellectual Property Laws" and was presented by Dr. Sarah Benson, who is a professor at the University of Illinois, USA. The second paper was titled "Unified Arab Digital Library and the Arab Creators Initiative: Intellectual Property Challenges," and Dr. Khaled Habashi, the director of the Gulf University Library in Bahrain, presented it. The third paper was titled "Protection of Literary and Artistic Works in the Digital Environment in Tunisia" and was presented by Mr. Mohamed Al-Amairi. Finally, Dr. Yusra Al-Saghir from the Arab Organization for Education, Science, and Culture (ALECSO) presented the last paper, "Integration of Arab Knowledge Initiatives: Reality and Expectations". After the presentations, there were comments and discussions on the topics covered in the session. It was a great learning experience and unique to see such diverse experts come together to discuss important issues.

During the fourth session, Mr. Mohammed Jengar, Deputy Director of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Humanities in Morocco, chaired a discussion on national catalogs. The session included four working papers. The first paper, "Arabic Union Catalog Initiative for Establishing National Catalogs," was presented by Mr. Tarek Al-Nouri, Director of Customer Services at the Arabic Union Catalog. Next, Dr. Ibrahim Osman, Director of the Sudan National Library, presented the second paper titled "Sudanese National Catalog," followed by Ms. Huda Ben Sassi from the Tunisian National Library with a presentation on "The Tunisian National Library's Initiative in Digitizing the National Written Heritage." The final paper, "Providing Archival Resources: Between Technology and Organization: The Omani Experience," was presented by Mr. Talib Al-Khadouri from the Omani National Documents and Archives Authority. Following the presentations, participants engaged in an open discussion. Additionally, the workshop "Information Accessibility and Intellectual Property Challenges," facilitated by Dr. Sarah Benson, a University of Illinois, USA professor, and Mr. Kamil Al-Abduljalil, the General Director of the Kuwait National Library, was held.

In conclusion, I would like to share that the participants expressed their appreciation for the activities of the meeting and the support provided by King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince in supporting projects that serve Arab and Islamic culture. They commended the King Abdulaziz Public Library for the Arabic Union Catalog, which has become one of the essential tools in library and cultural work. They also thanked the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs for hosting the meeting.

The participants acknowledged the significant efforts made by the administrators of the Arabic Union Catalog, their continuous development, and specialized training programs in bibliographic control and cataloging. In addition, they emphasized the importance of collaboration in building Arab digital content and adding records in other languages to the Arabic Union Catalog database. The initiative of the Arabic Union Catalog in supporting the establishment of national catalogs and the Arab Innovators initiative was also appreciated.

I join the participants in thanking the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs for their support. May Allah grant success.

Tunis, 28 Rajab 1440 AH, corresponding to 4 April 2019.