Ministry of Culture (Arab Union)

The Ministry of Culture (Arabic: وزارة الثقافة wuzārat ath-thaqāfah) is a ministry of the federal government of the Arab Union, subordinate to the Council of Ministers. It is led by Minister of Culture Dr. Jamila Nashashibi.

The Ministry of Culture is the federal government's institution responsible for cultural policy, including direct support of artists and arts organisations via an arts council, maintaining the national registry of all heritage buildings and sites (including archaeological sites) subject to special protection, maintaining the national archive of cultural works (primarily the Arab National Museum in Nasser City, but including many other museums and archival institutions as well), and protecting important cultural heritage sites, both secular and religious (for example, the Ministry of Culture is responsible for the protection of the two holy mosques in Mecca and Medina, as well as the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, as well as facilitating the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

The Ministry of Culture is also responsible for promoting tourism at the federal level, as the federal government has no Ministry of Tourism of its own; the governments of the 20 republics are instead mostly responsible for promoting tourism, and thus each has their own Ministry of Tourism, which is why such a ministry does not exist at the federal level.