More than 2000 cardiac catheter surgeries successful at Prince Sultan Center in Ahsaa

Medical services ready to be provided for sick pilgrims

Prince Khalid bin Sultan opens command training center in Eastern Region

Assistant Defense Minister patronizes mobilization training on Patriots’ interception of ballistic missiles

Prince Khalid: Our polices are defensive, drills meant no message for anyone

Prince Khalid chairs Prince Sultan Water Award Council in the Netherlands, says award is of global benefit

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at his palace in Riyadh on Tuesday British Secretary of State for Defense Bob Ainsworth and the accompanying delegation.

During the audience, Ainsworth conveyed the greetings of United Kingdom’s Queen Elizabeth II, heir to the British throne Prince Charles and Prime Minister Gordon Brown to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In turn, the King sent his greetings to the British leadership.

Issues of common interest were discussed during the audience.

The audience was attended by Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs; and British Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia William Patey.

Meanwhile, the Prince Sultan Center for the Treatment and Surgery of Heart Diseases in al-Ahsaa conducted more than 2000 successful cardiac catheter surgeries in one year and a half since the launching of this type of surgery by pediatric cardio-electrotherapy consultant Dr. Abdullah Abdulqader and his medical team.

The center’s director, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Abdulqader, said the patients who underwent open-heart surgeries had been verified as operated on as the optimal option for their cases.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs arrived in Hafr al-Baten on Monday evening to patronize the conclusion of a tactical exercise carried out by Saudi Royal Air Defense Forces to intercept ballistic missiles.

Upon arrival at King Khalid Military City Airport, he was received by a number of commanders and senior officers.

In an address on the occasion, Prince Khalid bin Sultan said, "Since I arrived here in this region dear to our hearts, I have felt pride of the great sacrifices provided by our brave personnel during the military operations that accompanied the liberation of Kuwait. I was proud among my peers of military leaders of brotherly and friendly countries for the great works and heroism shown by citizens of this dear country."

"Ever since its foundation, the Kingdom has been accustomed not to interfere in internal affairs of any country; as such it does not allow any one else to interfere in our internal affairs.

Thus, we will not leave any reckless one to think of infringing on the soil of our dear country," he added.

On the other hand, Prince Khalid bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs, who is also Chairman of Board of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water chaired a meeting of the Board, which was held on Friday at UNESCO Institute for Education in the Field of Water in Dutch Delft city on Friday evening.

Welcoming the fourth session of the Board’s members, Prince Khalid bin Sultan reassured them about the good health of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, saying, "The Crown Prince sent his greetings to you and expressed best wishes for your success in your works and for enrichment of the Award for its success in all areas.”

Prince Khalid bin Sultan expressed his thanks all members for their efforts, wishing them grand success in the development of the award and the correct selection of the winners among the candidates.

On the other hand, the Board’s members held a meeting with Dutch experts in water at the Institute on Friday on the occasion of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water.

The meeting discussed a number of topics related to water particularly means of dealing with challenges related to water faced by the world as well as ways of conserving water and opting for its beneficial usage.

Prince Khalid has stressed that the award is for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the rest of the world, emanating from the belief of the founder of the award in continuing works for resolving the problem of water scarcity locally and worldwide.

In a press statement at the conclusion of the meeting of the Board’s Award in Dutch Delft city on Friday evening, he said, "The meeting discussed the strategy of the Award which is very important as Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation has directed that the award is for the benefit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Arab States and the rest of the world to deal with the problem of water scarcity, in the future. Therefore, there will be greater focusing on in-depth researches to find solutions to this problem and to try through this award to contribute greatly in solving this problem along with the Ministry of Water which is responsible for water sector in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."

Prince Khalid bin Sultan pointed out that the meeting also discussed how to cooperate with UNESCO in the future in this area and more discussion will be held in the next meeting scheduled in Riyadh in April, next year.

He added that the meeting also discussed preparations for handing over the award in December 2010 and the assessment of nominations received by the Secretariat-General of the Award amounting to more than 50 researches from 17 countries, expressing hope that more researches will arrive before the end of January 2010.

The Prince said, "Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award has not been the only one in the world, but it has been the largest recognized one."

He noted that the directives of the Crown Prince have been that the Award shall contribute to solving this global problem which is the biggest one in the Middle East and a major problem in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; therefore Crown Prince Sultan is interested in the Award and his directives to us have been to strengthen the Award and researches which might provide the way to solve future problems.

The Prince indicated that the Crown Prince’s concern in water started when he received integrated reports , especially researches from King Saud University and according to this the Crown Prince started to establish the first research center for water at the university which was one of the most important centers in the Kingdom prior to the award, adding, "Then came his idea of encouraging researchers in the Kingdom and the world to solve a problem which he considered not just a global problem only ; as we know that the largest area with a shortage or scarcity of water is the Middle East and the largest area in the Middle East, where there is more scarcity is the Kingdom."

Prince Khalid bin Sultan said that emanating from this point, the contribution of Crown Prince Sultan in this regard is not limited. He is interested in this problem and in continuation of its solution, he added.

On the selection of the Netherlands for the Board’s meeting, the Prince said Netherlands" Heir Apparent was in the Kingdom last year attending the ceremony of the Award and he invited us to hold the annual meeting of the Board in the Netherlands.

Prince Khalid stressed that the use and sharing of water resources wisely and fairly will make water as an incentive for the achievement of peace at international arena.

In a speech at a dinner party hosted by Mayor of Dutch Delft City Bas Verkerk on Friday evening during Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Award for Water, the Prince pointed out that the award calls for the invention of non-traditional solutions to save the planet.

He noted that the statement of the Director-General of UNESCO at the World Water Day on March 22 confirms that that water affects all aspects of human life.

The Prince commended UNESCO’s initiative entitled " From Prospects of Conflict to Prospects of Cooperation".

He added that the world’s proper administration of water is now the vital demand and that necessary efforts need to be taken to overcome water crisis.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan expressed his thanks to the Government of the Netherlands and its noble people for warm welcome, generous hospitality, and positive stands towards various Arab positions.

He expressed his heartfelt thanks to Netherlands Heir Apparent Prince Willem Alexander, who is also Prince of Orange, for hosting the first meeting of the Award in its 4th session, and a ceremony on the occasion of the Award Day in Dutch Delft city.

The Prince praised continuing cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Netherlands, saying, "The cooperation between our two countries has been witnessing remarkable development in several areas. Cooperation has been rooted in history for almost four centuries. We have been still patronizing these relations, hoping for their further enhancement.

On his part, Netherlands Heir Apparent described the Award as an important factor in creating awareness of global water problem as well as an incentive for researches to find solutions to this problem.

He noted that the visit of the Chairman and members of the Board’s Award to Netherlands is a valuable opportunity to achieve awareness of water problems, to exchange views on ways of solving those problems, and to discuss close cooperation between the sectors of water in the two countries.

The dinner was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Netherlands Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Shaghroud and Netherlands" Ambassador to Kingdom Ron Strikker.