Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques patronizes laying foundation stones of several investment projects at total value of SR130 billion

King Abdullah: We’re counting a lot on King Abdullah Economic City to attract investments

Pakistani PM underscores Saudi role, bilateral relations

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz patronized the ceremony of laying the foundation stones of a number of investment projects in King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh with a total value of SR130 billion.

The ceremony was attended by Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of Allegiance-Pledge Commission, and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General.

Upon arrival at the venue of the ceremony, the king was received by Prince Khalid Alfaisal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Makkah Region, other princes and officials.

The king viewed a model of King Abdullah Economic City and was briefed on it.

Governor of the General Investment Commission Amr Aldabbagh delivered a speech in which he said that the "Company of Building the Economic City" has provided 5000 scholarships to the people of the province of Rabigh to qualify them for work at the projects of the city.

Aldabbagh added that until now, the city has attracted investments exceeding SR100 billion.

The king watched a documentary film on King Abdullah Economic City.

The king and those attending watched a show on the infrastructure projects, facilities and services including the port of King Abdullah Economic City, projects of the public utilities, the projects of the infrastructure of the transportation, the building of the General Investment Commission and other facilities whose total cost is SR79 billion. Then, the king laid the foundation stone of these projects.

Then, the king and those attending watched a show on the industrial, logistic and knowledge industry projects with a total cost of SR56 billion.

Then, the king laid the foundation stone of these projects.

The monarch, princes and other attendees were shown a video tape on human resources and education development projects at a cost of SR3 billion.

Another show was on construction accomplishments in King Abdullah Economic City.

Then the Governor of General Commission for Investment presented gifts to the King, Chairman of Allegiance-Pledge Commission and the Crown Prince to mark the occasion of the laying of the foundation stone of King Abdullah Economic City.

Accompanied 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 had a tour of the exhibition held on the fringes of the event.

They saw replicas of a number of developmental projects in the city, including SAUDIA mall, Fine Hotel, Bailsan residential village, Aluminum Factories Complex, Esmeralda neighborhood, Smart Service Center and they were briefed on them by the Chairman of General Commission for Investment.

The king then dropped at the Humanitarian Communication Network Pavilion and was briefed on its contents by a specialist at the facility.

Then the King, Chairman of the Allegiance-Pledge Commission and the Crown Prince graced a luncheon held on this occasion.

Then the King received Dr. Nihad Awad, Chairman of KIR Islamic Foundation in the United States, who was accompanied by the director of International Communications Ibrahim Huwair and Senator Larri Shaw who greeted the King and presented a memorial gift to him.

Also they congratulated him on the success of the International Islamic Conference on Dialogue which was held in Makkah recently.

This was followed by a photo-taking session.

At the end of the foundation stone-laying event, the King graced the visitors' book with the following to remarks:

"In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

"Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, prayer and peace be on the best of prophets and messengers!

Our happiness on this day is overwhelming as we witness the establishment of a number of projects in Abdullah Economic City.

"In fact, we are counting on this city that its current and future projects turn to be a qualitative addition to our national economy through the creation of an environment suitable for attracting investments, transferring technology through partnership with the leading economic institutions in our country and the world at large, and providing job opportunities for citizens.

"May God Almighty offer success for everyone, bless the efforts of the faithful sons of this nation, endow this country, its citizens and the entire Islamic nation with the benefits of these projects, and grace these good projects for the prosperity and development of Muslims.

I avail myself on this opportunity to ask those in charge of this city to build a mosque in each neighborhood of the city so that the name of God is voiced every prayer time therein.

Thanks to Allah Almighty for his blessings on this country including security, safety and decent living, and let us thank God once again so that good omen prevails and good blessings safeguard the country, its residents and employees. "

Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Then the national anthem was played.

The monarch then left the venue with a warm farewell.

The ceremony was attended by Prince Mit'eb bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Prince Faisal bin Turki bin Abdulaziz Al Saud; Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz; Prince Abdulrahman bin Ahmed bin Abdulrahman; Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister; Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence, princes, ministers, senior civil and military officials and businessmen.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz patronized the opening of the two-day 33rd Annual Meeting of the Council of Governors of the Islamic Development Bank Group at the level of ministers of finance, economy and planning in the 56-member countries of the bank.

Upon arrival, the king was received by Prince Mishaal bin Majid bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Jeddah, President of the Council of Governors of the bank and Minister of Finance of Bahrain Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohammad Al Khalifah and other ministers and officials.

Sheikh Ahmad delivered a speech in which he thanked the king for his patronage of the meeting and attendance of its opening.

Sheikh Ahmad highlighted the king's efforts to unite and develop the Islamic nation. Sheikh Ahmad pledged to work for achieving the king's vision for the economic strength of the Islamic nation. Then, President of the Islamic Development Bank Group Dr. Ahmad Mohammad Ali delivered a speech in which he expressed happiness for the king's gracing of the opening.

Dr. Ahmad highlighted the king's support for the bank's poverty fund and Alquds and Alaqsa funds.

Then, Organization of Islamic Conference Secretary General Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu delivered a speech in which he underlined the king's support for the OIC's Alliance for Caring for the Children Victims of the Tsunami Disaster in Indonesia explaining that this project had the honor of the king's generous gesture of supporting 500 orphans.

The OIC Secretary General thanked the Saudi government for its constant support for the OIC and its affiliated institutions.

Then, Saudi Minister of Finance and Saudi Arabia's Governor at Islamic Development Bank Group Dr. Ibrahim Alassaf delivered a speech in which he underlined the Saudi efforts to boost the Islamic economic work and support the bank and the anti-poverty fund with the Saudi announcement of a donation of one billion US dollars to the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development.

On behalf of the African group, Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning and Governor of the Bank for Togo Gilbert Bawara delivered a speech in which he thanked the king for gracing the opening and his support for the bank and the Islamic nation.

On behalf of the Arab countries group, Minister of Economy and Finance and the Bank's Acting Governor for Morocco Salah Aldeen Almizwar delivered a speech in which he hailed Saudi support for the bank and Saudi donation of one billion US dollars for the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development.

Then, Minister of Finance and Planning and Acting Governor of the Bank for Bangladesh Mirza Mohammad Aziz delivered a speech on behalf of the Asian countries group. He lauded Saudi support for the bank and the king's efforts to serve Islam.

Following that, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud watched a show announcing the identity and the logo of the Islamic International Foundation for Financing Trade.

Then the King received a shield presented by the Foundation's Executive Chairman Dr. Walid Al-Wahaiby

Later, the winners of the Bank prizes for 1428 in the areas of Islamic banking and finance, science and technology, women's contribution to development were announced.

After that, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received a memorial gift presented by a number of children who were sponsored by the King within the program of Organization of Islamic Conference for sponsoring orphan children of Tsunami victims.

The opening ceremony was attended by Prince Miteb bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Prince Faisal bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saud, Assistant Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Mansour bin Nasser bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the King; Prince Dr. Bandar bin Salman bin Mohammed Al Saud, Adviser to the King and a number of ministers and senior officials.

The Custodian of The Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, received at his palace Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.

During the audience, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques welcomed the Pakistani Prime Minister, wishing him and his accompanying delegation a good stay in the Kingdom.

On his part, the Pakistani Prime Minister expressed his pleasure to meet the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and conveyed to him the greetings and appreciation of Pakistan's government and people. He valued relations binding the two brotherly countries and their peoples.

Then, they discussed overall events and developments at Islamic and international arenas, aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of their enhancement in all fields in the service of their mutual interests.

On the Saudi side, the audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs; Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir and Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali bin Awadh Assiri.

The audience was also attended by the delegation accompanying the Pakistani Prime Minister.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said there is a strong resolve on the part of the Saudi leadership to enhance current ties between the two countries with focus on greater energy and trade cooperation.

He pointed out to progress in developing cooperation in agriculture and food sectors, saying that a Saudi delegation will visit Pakistan next month to start discussions on enhancing cooperation in model farms and dairy products and live stocks.

Referring to a meeting between Saudi and Pakistani ministers of petroleum and ministers of Agriculture, Gilani said that the two countries agreed on continuous cooperation in petroleum and energy sectors through short and long term strategies.

Gilani praised the feeling of fraternity and love he felt during his meeting with The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz and the King's reassertion on the continuity of Pakistani unity in order to make Pakistan able to concentrate more on development and prosperity of the people of Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and his accompanying delegation performed 'Umrah'.

He was received at the vicinity of the Holy Mosque of Makkah by a number of officials.

The Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousuf Riza Gilani and the accompanying delegation left Jeddah after a visit to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

At King Abdulaziz International Airport, they were seen off by Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Ali bin Awadh Assiri and a number of officials.

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Saudi Public Campaign for the Assistance of Pakistan Earthquake Victims represented by Said Al-Arabi Al Harthy Advisor to HRH Minister of Interior and Head of the Campaign and UNICEF Gulf Area Office represented by Dr. Ayman A. Abu Laban for a total amount of $2 million. The aim of this understanding is to provide support to the vulnerable children who suffer the most from the disastrous earthquake that hit Pakistan in the eighth of October 2005, and to respond to their health and nutritional demands by constructing health facilities.

Al Harthy stressed that, “we have had a series of cooperation agreements with UNICEF with a total amount of 30 million Saudi Riyals to benefit the children of the world.”

On behalf of UNICEF, Ayman A. Abu Laban expressed his sincere thanks to His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, to the Crown Prince HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, to the Saudi Minister of Interior and Head of the Saudi Public Campaign HRH Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz and to the Saudi nation for the generous donation provided to the children of the world through UNICEF. He added that, “this support is not the first of its kind, UNICEF has been granted with earlier gestures from HRH Prince Naif bin Abdul Aziz, in recognition of Saudi Arabia being “the Kingdom of Humanity.”

This donation will be used to construct eight high-quality health facilities in addition to the associated domiciles and all the necessary equipments and supplies. They will be handed over upon completion to the concerned agency in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan within 18 months of signing this memorandum which defines roles and accountabilities of partners, details projects/activities together with timeline and budget.

It is worth mentioning that this donation is the outcome of a Saudi campaign that was launched following a decree from His Majesty the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in response to a flash appeal from UNICEF to support the children and women who were grieved by the earthquake.

Saudi Arabia received a gratitude award from the World Bank as an appreciation for its rapid application of economy reform procedures, said a press release issued by Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA).

The Kingdom became one of the global top 10 countries which applied radical reform procedures to their economies, which was reflected positively in its business performance rank.

It was classified as the best investment environment in the Arab World and the Middle East, and was ranked in the 23rd position out of 178 countries.

This came in the annual meeting arranged in the US by the World Bank. The meeting was attended by senior officials in addition to global key personalities specialized in economy and investment.

"Saudi Arabia won this award due to the blessing and the full support of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and Crown Prince Sultan, as they gave direct instructions to implement comprehensive economic reforms leading to more development and modernization of the society, and enhancing the business environment and launching a total-solution program to facilitate local, joint and foreign investments," said Amr Al-Dabbagh, SAGIA Governor.

"This program reflects the constant approach of the Kingdom toward encouraging private investments, which represent the backbone for economic growth and provide thousands of jobs and expand the economic base and diversify sources of national income, and improve the added value of natural resources," he said.

Dr. Awad Al-Awad, SAGIA's Deputy Governor, received the award and gave a brief presentation about the major reform steps taken to enhance investment environment in the Kingdom. He said the increase of investment flow to the Kingdom placed it in the 20th place of the global investment flow destinations, as per the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNTCAD) report.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace Assistant to U.S. President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism Kenneth L. Wainstein and his accompanying delegation.

The U.S. official conveyed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the greetings of President George W. Bush of the United States of America. In turn, the Monarch sent his greetings to the U.S. President. They also reviewed a number of topics of common interest.

The audience was attended by Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, Saudi Ambassador to the United States of America Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, and U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom Ford Fraker.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received a message from Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The message was handed over to the King by Sheikh Dr Mohammed Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kuwait during an audience with the King at his Palace.

The Deputy Prime Minister conveyed the greetings of Emir of Kuwait to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In turn, the Monarch sent his greetings to the Emir.

The audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Sheikh Hamad Jabir Al-Ali Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, opened in Leeds the Second Saudi Innovation Conference.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by Prince Salman bin Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Mayor of Leeds lord Frank Robinson and a number of academicians and officials.

Speaking on the occasion, Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf expressed delight over opening the ceremony.

Highlighting the importance of Leeds University, he said it is one of the ten research-oriented universities in the UK, adding that King Saud University is one of the prestigious Saudi universities.

Prince Mohammed pointed out that innovation is not confined to computers, technologies of space sciences and advances as well as inventions, but also constituted the human development throughout history.

Prince Mohammed said "Brain with its unlimited capacity is the greatest bounty bestowed by Allah Almighty on the mankind, and it is the bounty which makes us differ from other creatures.

The creative and innovative thinking is the best way of using this brain and it is the most useful matter for the human being," he noted.

Prince Mohammed pointed out that the Arabs and Muslims had earlier realized the reality of innovation and had done their best to collect the fruits of the previous civilizations throughout the world.

"The Arabs and Muslims had developed the ancient civilizations and made creative contributions to the march of the international civilization," said the Saudi ambassador.

Prince Mohammed regretted that the Arabs and Muslims had failed to catch up the train of the international civilization. "But, thanks to Allah Almighty, we have been working to catch up the train of civilization and narrow the gap between us and others', he said.

"As education and taking care of the talented are important element for attaining development and growth, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who is well-known for his wisdom and farsightedness, has made big and serious strides in this respect, " he noted.

Prince Mohammed said innovation and development of the knowledge economy are essential matters and they constitute a part of the Kingdom's national development plans.

The Saudi ambassador expressed optimism that the conference would yield positive results and adopt practical ways that are feasible for application and open wide doors for new horizons.

Prince Mohammed noted that more than 200 papers have been presented for this conference by Saudi researchers from various universities.

On his part, the Mayor of Leeds Frank Robinson welcomed the convening of the conference in the city.

The Vice Rector of Leeds University also expressed happiness over hosting the conference which projects the standard of the Saudi students and their skills.

Later, Prince Mohammed handed over shields to the outstanding students and innovators as well as to the parties which are patronizing the conference and to the participants of the seminars and sessions.

Prince Mohammed also opened the Saudi exhibition organized on the fringes of the conference.

He toured the show accompanied by Mayor of Leeds Frank Robinson.