Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques discusses with Solana regional, int’l developments

Saudi FM welcomes mediation to solve Afghan crisis

Saudi king patronizes symposium on peaceful use of nuclear power

King Abdullah receives honorary doctorate from King Saud University

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz received the honorary doctorate certificate granted to him by King Saud University during an audience with Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid bin Mohammad Ala'nqari, Director of King Saudi University Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Othman and other officials of the university.

A speech ceremony was held on the occasion.

In his speech, the Minister of Higher Education, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the University expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the King for supporting higher education in the dear homeland.

He noted that the King's support for higher education and its institutions is clear visible and speaks for itself in various parts of the Kingdom.

In another speech, the Director of King Saud University said that the University's Board has the honor to award the King an honorary doctorate degree in recognition of his great support for the higher education sector, noting that this support has been manifested in various forms, including the significant expansion in university education covering all regions and provinces as well as his promotion to scientific research and its modern applications in nanotechnology field.

On her part, the Dean of University Studies Center for Girls Dr. Al-Jazi Al-Shubaiki expressed her thanks to and appreciation of the King for approving money to build university city for girls sections at King Saud University.

After that, the ceremony of awarding the honorary doctorate to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques started. The Minister of Higher Education and Director of the University of King Saud awarded the honorary doctorate to the King. Memorial gifts were also presented.

Then the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud delivered a speech in which he expressed his thanks to all and said, "I have done what I can. I wish you all success. I am waiting for nanotechnology. I want to tell sisters that we shall lay the foundation stone for the university on next Wednesday. I wish that you should have a firm trust that your country runs in calm and serenity. I bring you good news of future happiness and prosperity."

“Brothers I don’t deserve all of this, someone else who worked deserves that; I only did what I could. I wish you all the best. Everyday I say, God willing it is coming.” The function in Riyadh was attended by Dr. Khaled Bin Muhammad Ala'nqari , Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulrahman Al-Othman, President of King Saud University and several deputies and deans of faculties.

The ceremony was attended by Prince Abdulilah bin Abdulaziz, Advisor to the King; Prince Miqren bin Abdulaziz, Chief of General Intelligence; a number of princes and officials.

King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, will inaugurate an “International Symposium On the Peaceful Applications of Nuclear Technology” on Nov.3.

The conference, to be held over three days at King Abdulaziz University (KAAU) in Jeddah, follows last year’s GCC summit in Riyadh which called for a joint nuclear program for peaceful purposes according to standards set by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Prior to the summit, Abdul Rahman Al-Attayia, GCC Secretary General, met Muhammad ElBaradei, the IAEA Director General in Geneva, to explore a feasibility study for the program.

At their summit the GCC leaders endorsed the decision to perform a study on the program and stressed the importance of denuclearization of the region. The Higher Committee at the GCC Council had referred the matter to a scientific panel formed of professors from Gulf universities and King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.

The symposium will discuss a range of issues including strategic planning for the peaceful use of nuclear energy in GCC states, the supply of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, protection from radioactivity and the peaceful utilization of isotopes.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz received Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the accompanying delegation.

During the audience, they discussed developments at the regional and international arenas and cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the EU. The audience was attended by Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister, other princes and senior officials.

Meanwhile, Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister, held a joint press conference with Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, who is currently visiting the kingdom.

Prince Saud began the conference with a statement in which he said:

"We held today lengthy and detailed talks which discussed the developments in the region of the Middle East and Arab Gulf, the Afghan crisis and the progress of negotiations on the agreement on the free trade between the GCC and the EU.

"The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will receive him (Mr. Solana) today to discuss the regional and international situations.

"Concerning the issues we discussed today, the peace process took a large part of the discussion. The peace process stumble is a source of concern for us despite all ongoing efforts to move it forward.

"The kingdom views that the most important hurdles confronting the peace process are Israel's continuation of maneuvering, stalling, being not serious and pressing on with building settlements and expanding existing ones especially ongoing Judaization attempts in Alquds Alsharif and constant attempts by Israeli settlers to storm Alaqsa Alsharif mosque and violate its sanctity.

"We are today witnessing one of the dangerous effects of this policy reflected in the escalation of settlers' attacks and ferocity on the Palestinians in their towns, villages and farms in the West Bank in addition to Israeli authorities' repression and oppression of the Palestinian people in all the occupied territories.

"All of this constitutes an insurmountable obstacle for establishing an independent, contiguous and viable Palestinian state. Of course, it is also against all assurances and commitments which came out of Annapolis Conference.

"On this basis, we see the importance of seriously dealing with these pivotal issues within the framework of our search for peace in the Middle East.

"On Lebanon, the visit by Lebanese President Michel Suleiman to the kingdom was an opportunity to discuss the bilateral relations and regional issues. The visit reflected the depth of brotherly relations binding the two brotherly countries and peoples. The Kingdom welcomes the Syrian-Lebanese agreement to establish diplomatic relations between them as a step on the road to achieve stability and equality in the relations between the two neighboring countries.

"On the nuclear file, we appreciate the role played by the EU and Mr. Solana's efforts to solve the crisis peacefully. We still see that the ideal solution to this file is to make the region of the Middle East and the Arab Gulf free from all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons including Israel while maintaining the right of the region's countries in nuclear power for peaceful purposes.

"We hope these efforts will enjoy the positions that guarantee their success and a positive response from Iran to Mr. Solana's efforts and that this crisis will be solved away from the language of tension, escalation and the logic of confrontation.

"We also discussed the negotiations concerning the agreement on the free trade between the countries of the GCC and the EU. We hope that after the long road run by the two sides in the negotiations over long years, the remainder of the outstanding issues will be settled to enable its signing as soon as possible."

In his statement, the EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy, Dr. Javier Solana highlighted the importance of the role of Saudi Arabia, describing it as an important country. He noted that his meeting with Prince Saud Al-Faisal today is not only politically but there are a lot of crises that the two sides look forward to resolve.

He stressed the importance of joint work between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the European Union and the deepening of relations and working together to reach a solution particularly the Free Trade Agreement between the GCC and the European Union. He expected that the agreement will be achieved before the end of 2008, pointing out that the reason for the delay lies in the presence of some difficulties that will be overcome soon.

Dr. Solana said that during his meeting today with Prince Saud Al-Faisal, they discussed the peace process, Syrian-Lebanese relations, and political situations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the need for finding a solution to these crises.

Then Prince Saud al-Faisal and Dr. Solana responded to reporters' questions. In response to a question about Saudi attempt to mediate between the Afghan government and Taliban, Prince Saud pointed out that the Kingdom's attempt came upon a formal request from Afghan President Hamed Karzai who announced that he would like that the Kingdom conducts this mediation aiming at restoration of the construction of his country.

Prince Saud added that the Kingdom has only the attempt and said," We have only the attempt. We can not refuse to do so, as we are interested in peace and security in Afghanistan. It's up to the Afghans themselves. If we felt a desire from Afghans to solve the problems, renounce violence, leave arms and engage in political work according to constitutional institutions, which is hoped, there will be attempts. But if we have not seen a positive response, it will be difficult to find a way to intervene in the matter."

Commenting on the developments of the peace initiative and what was said by former Israeli prime minister that it is better to start the peace process late rather than not coming, Prince Saud said, "We hope that the new Prime Minister works in this direction which leads to peace."

In reply to a question about Turkey's efforts in the area, Prince Saud noted that Turkey is an important country in the region and said, "At the same time there is a great confidence in Turkey from the Arab world. If there is a mediation between Syria and Israel, I believe that Turkey's presence in the mediation is encouraged and that will leave no doubts to us."

As for Lebanese affairs, Prince Saud stressed that the Lebanese president did not speak during his visit to Saudi Arabia about the presence of Syrian deployments between Syria and Lebanon and said, "Our hope is based on what was agreed between Syria and Lebanon on the diplomatic representation in the hope that this forward step will lead to stabilizing the situations between the two neighbors".

With regard to the situation of Saudi-Syrian relations, and if there is a mediation between the two countries, he said, "Relations between the two countries are existing and mediation is among countries which do not know each other. As for us and Syria, we have historical relations. I do not think that the relations need reform. The two countries are guaranteed to know each interests. If there are differences, then differences occur among one family. God willing, they will finish".

Prince Saud emphasized that the reason for delay of opening Saudi embassy in Baghdad is not political but due to a security reason, saying, "The reason for the delay of opening an embassy in Baghdad has no political reason, but it is only a security one. Naturally, a diplomat should be provided with a minimum extent of movement and communication with officials and people. He should not be isolated from the world to perform his work properly and effectively."

On his part, Dr. Javier Solana talked about the support for the political initiative in Darfur and said," We are taking part in the attempt to reach a solution between the South and the North. We have peace keeping forces in southern Sudan and Darfur. We sent a representative from the European Union and we will see what he will do".

He noted that there are still problems on the side of Sudanese government as it does not facilitate the deployment of peace keeping forces. He indicated that there is an initiative from the Arab League and the African Union to implement maintaining of peace.

President of the Middle East Policy Council in the United States and former U.S. ambassador to the kingdom Ambassador Chas. W. Freeman, Jr. stressed the importance of the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in the Islamic world. He described the role as enlightening and said it can defeat terrorism and violence in their intellectual bases.

He also stressed the pivotal role played by the kingdom in solving the issues in the Middle East region topped by the Palestinian cause and peace in the region.

In a statement to Alwatan newspaper, Ambassador Freeman pointed out that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques always stresses the need to remember the more important feature of Islamic history, the scientific excellence and civilization innovation through openness and interaction with others.

Ambassador Freeman called on the next U.S. president to study King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's intellectual propositions carefully for their importance and for their expected impact for a long time on the position of the Islamic world on the current world civilization map.

Ambassador Freeman said, "With such intellectual propositions, the Saudis are stressing that they are playing an enlightening role in the whole Islamic world and it is a role that no other country can play for many circumstances."

On the Saudi-U.S. relations, he said, "All people know the historic roots of this relationship and its importance for us and for the Middle East."

Ambassador Freeman talked on past lessons concerning the Middle East and said, "One of these important lessons is to listen well to what the Saudis say. They are very familiar with the affairs of the region and its complications. Then, they are friends who can be trusted and their wisdom also can be trusted. I think the experiences of the last few years have proved that."

Ambassador Freeman hailed the achievements accomplished during the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz at all domestic and external levels.