The events of the Arab Poetry Spring Festival for the Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain Cultural Foundation commenced yesterday evening under the esteemed patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. The festival was attended by the Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs and Acting Minister of Information, Sheikh Mohammed Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, as well as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kuwait News Agency (KUNA), and the Director General, Sheikh Mubarak Al-Duaij Al-Ibrahim Al-Sabah, along with parliamentary deputies, academic and cultural figures, and media professionals from across the Arab world.

         The opening ceremony began with a tour of the book exhibition organized by the Foundation at Albabtain Central Library for Arab Poetry. Following that, the official opening proceedings commenced with a speech delivered by the Chairman of the Foundation, Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain.

         In his speech, Albabtain expressed gratitude to His Highness the Prime Minister, Sheikh Jaber Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, for his patronage of the tenth season of the "Arab Poetry Spring Festival." He stated: "The happiest moments for us are those that bring together this noble elite, representing a distinguished group of Arab intellectuals. We share a common goal, which is to celebrate Arab poetry and work to elevate it as much as we can. Arab poetry is a stronghold of our language and our spiritual and emotional unity, accomplished through refined poetic expressions and noble meanings that poets and knights should preserve. These meanings should serve as an inspiration for the youth of our nation and its leaders to work for a better present and a brighter future."

         Albabtain pointed out that in line with the Foundation's tradition during the seasons of the Arab Poetry Spring Festival, they have chosen to honor the symbols of poetry in our great Arab nation. For this festival, the Foundation chose to celebrate two Arab poets, one of them from the State of Kuwait, the late poet Ya'qub Abdulaziz Al-Rasheed, and the other from the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the late poet Moustafa Wahbi Al-Tel, also known as "Arar."

         The Foundation has printed the poetry collection of the poet "Arar," titled "Ashiyat Wadi Al-Yabis" (Evenings of the Dry Valley), edited by Dr. Ziyad Saleh Al-Za'bi. This edition includes some poems that have not been previously published, which were manuscripts in the poet's own handwriting. This release joins several other publications about the poet. The Foundation has also issued a number of books about the poet Ya'qub Al-Rasheed and selected poems from his collections, representing his creativity throughout different stages of his life. The total number of releases during this festival has reached ten publications.

         Following the speech by Albabtain, the first poetry evening took place, featuring the participation of poets including Musaab Al-Ruwishid, Wadha Al-Hassawi, and Jaber Al-Naama from Kuwait, as well as Mohammad Turki Hijazi and Muayyad Al-Shaib from Jordan. The event also included participation from Aya Osama Wahbi from Sudan, Abdulsamad Saqr from Syria, and Abdulaziz Saud Albabtain. The poetry evening was moderated by Dr. Salem Abbas Khaddadah.