Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques discusses with Pakistani president bilateral relations, regional, int'l developments

King Abdullah receives "Poverty Fight Champ" certificate, honorary presidency of Saudi Red Crescent Society

The Kingdom follows up preparations to host religions embracing dialogue

First meeting on intellectual security in Saudi Arabia approved

Minister Al-Qusaibi: I'm not in war with private sector; Saudization campaign is continued

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace in Riyadh President Asif Zardari of Pakistan and the accompanying delegation.

At the outset of the meeting, which was attended by Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of Allegiance-Pledge Commission, and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, the monarch welcomed the Pakistani President and his accompanying delegation, wishing them a good stay in the Kingdom.

For his part, President Asif Zardari thanked the king for warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to him and accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, they discussed the overall incidents and developments at the regional and International arenas including the position of the two countries towards them in addition to aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in a way that serves their common interests in all fields.

Then the monarch gave a dinner party in honor of President Asif Zardari of Pakistan and accompanying delegation.

The reception and the dinner party were attended by Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of Allegiance-Pledge Commission; Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Interior Minister; Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Abdul-Ilah bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the King; Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs; Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Secretary General of the National Security Council; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman in Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor to the King; ministers and senior protocol officials.

The events were also attended by the Pakistani President's accompanying delegation.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace in Riyadh the Executive Manager for the World Food Program Joseat Scheran and her accompanying delegation.

She thanked the monarch for his support for the World Food Program.

She highlighted the efforts exerted by the program to wipe out poverty on earth.

Meanwhile, Prince Mishaal bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Governor of Najran Region, was relieved of his post upon his request, a Royal Order said.

Accordingly, the relevant authorities are instructed to carry out the royal order with immediate effect, the royal order added.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received a copy of the annual report of the Saudi Red Crescent Society for the year 1428 H.

The copy was handed to Crown Prince Sultan during an audience with the Minister of Health and Chairman of Board of Directors of Saudi Red Crescent Society, Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Al Manie; Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, President of Saudi Red Crescent Society and a number of the Society's members.

Crown Prince Sultan expressed his appreciation for the humanitarian works carried out by the Society, wishing it all success and further progress.

On their part, the Minister of Health and the Society's President expressed their thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Sultan for their support for the Society enabling it to carry out its duties.

Under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Ala'nqari opened in Jeddah an international symposium on peaceful uses of nuclear technology in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

A speech ceremony was held on the occasion.

In his speech, the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the symposium Dr. Mohammad Aljohani thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for patronizing the symposium.

The symposium will discuss issues pertaining to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in 13 sessions.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace the Special Envoy of Secretary General of the United Nations for the Middle East Terje Roed-Larsen.

During the audience, the envoy conveyed to the King the greetings of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. In turn, the King sent his greetings to Ki-moon.

They also reviewed the ongoing preparations at the United Nations headquarters in New York to host "The Dialogue of Followers of Religions" called for by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

The overall situations in the region, especially the Palestinian issue and the stalled peace process were also discussed.

The audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace the County Governor of Stockholm Per Unckel and the accompanying delegation currently on a visit to the Kingdom.

At the outset of the audience, Unckel expressed his pleasure over his meeting the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his visit to the Kingdom.

The King and his guest reviewed issues of common concern to their two countries.

The audience was attended by Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Saudi Ambassador to Sweden Dr. Abdulrahman Aljedie and Sweden's Ambassador to the Kingdom Jan Thesleff.

UN's secretary general Ban Ki-Moon has appraised the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as regards the meeting g due to be held at the UN's general assembly on dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures on Nov 12-13, 2008 at the initiative of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz.

Ki-Moon described the convening of the meeting as a very important event.

In a statement released by the UN, Ki-Moon said the consultations which precede the convening of the meeting are going well, adding that several leaders of the countries of the world have confirmed their keenness on participating in the conference.

The UN's secretary general pointed out that this initiative and the other similar initiatives and the other efforts which enhance the principles of understanding and mutual respect among the followers of the religions and cultures will push the international community towards more harmony.

In the presence of chairman of the Shoura Council Sheikh Saleh Bin Humaid and President of King Saud University (KSU) Dr. Abdullah Al-Othman and advisor to Minister of Interior Dr. Sa’ed Al-Harthi, the Chair of Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz for Intellectual Security Studies was launched at KSU.

“The Chair will be concerned with studies related to intellectual security to help contribute to combat deviant ideology in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Khaled Al-Diris, supervisor of the Chair. “It is hoped that it would give due attention to intellectual dialogue driven by moderation,” he added. On his part, Dr. Khaled Al-Hudhaifi, dean of the college of education, stressed on the importance of intellectual security to confront a deviant’s extreme thought. “It would keep that extreme notion away as Islam advocates moderation and tolerance,” he said.

Dr. Al-Harthi said only research would constitute the foundation of the development of nations. Prince Naif singed the contract to finance the Chair, he said. Another Chair for national unity has already been launched with Imam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University, he added.

A speech on the intellectual security in the light of Islam was delivered by Sheik Bin Humaid, lauding the efforts of Prince Naif to enforce national security. “Prince Naif is preoccupied with the security of his nation and people. He is the first security man in the Kingdom,” Sheikh said.

The Chair would help activate more research on Islamic thought in terms of intellectual security, he said

The Cabinet approved the licensing of a new education development holding company to undertake all education development projects and services in Saudi Arabia.

The Cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, assigned the company, Tatweer Holding Company, to implement the King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Project for Development of Public Education as its first major task. The company will provide basic and supporting educational services to develop, establish, possess, operate and maintain educational projects, and execute works and activities in this regard.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the accompanying delegation visited in Riyadh King Saud University.

Upon arrival at the University, he was received by Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom; the Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Angari; Director of King Saud University Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Othman and a number of the university officials.

A speech ceremony was held on this occasion.

The Minister of Higher Education welcomed the British Prime Minister and the accompanying delegation, noting that this visit comes within the framework of a closer relationship between the two countries and in recognition of the world status of King Saud University.

On his part, the Director of King Saud University expressed his appreciation for the visit, indicating the international standing reached King Saud University and its advanced position recently achieved in the world rankings.

In his speech, the British Prime Minister said, "I got the honor of having dinner last night with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. I was pleased to know the size of support provided by the government for the University and researchers. I consider this university not as a local but a global university."

He expressed his pleasure over the strong ties binding the University and British Universities.

The British Prime Minister attended the signing of an agreement of cooperation between King Saud University, represented by King Fahd Center for Heart Medicine and Cardiac Surgery, and Magdi Yacoub Institute and Imperial College, represented by Dr. Magdi Yacoub.

The British Secretary for Business Lord Peter Mandelson called on investment, trade and industry circles in Britain to seize the tremendous opportunities provided to them by the economies of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council states.

Mandelson, who is accompanying British Prime Minister Gordon Brown in his current Gulf tour, lauded the strong trade ties binding Britain and the Gulf States since early history.

In a press statement released by the British Foreign Office, the Minister said that multilateral funding centers around the Gulf states have made great strides and are opening doors to many opportunities in the field of banking, insurance, legal consultations and Islamic banks.

He expected that health care services in the Gulf will receive investments amounting to 30 billion pounds by 2025 in addition to huge amounts of money allocated by Gulf governments for education, training and skills promotion.

Mandelson also hailed the traditional role and future vital contributions of the Gulf economies to the British economy.

According to official data released, the United Kingdom's exports of goods and services to the GCC countries exceeded 12 billion pounds in 2007. They increased by 20 percent during the first seven months of this year, the report added.

Mandelson noted that the Gulf region's economies witness considerable expansion and prosperous developments and their governments also undertake the responsibilities of planning and implementation of development projects with confidence and competence.

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior has approved a proposal submitted by the Ministry of Education not to bring anyone who does not read or write the language of his country, stressing that this shall be a condition of recruitment, and briefing Saudi embassies to take this into consideration.

Earlier, the Minister of Interior directed a team of researchers to conduct researches and studies on crimes of expatriates in the Kingdom to address the crimes and their negative phenomena from a scientific and systematic perspective.

On his part, the Deputy Minister of Education for Boys Education Dr. Saeed bin Mohammed Al Al-Mullais affirmed that this comes within the framework of the Ministry's sensing of its leading role in the development of society.