April 8, 2005

A FIELD HOSPITAL IN HAIL FOR HEART OPERATIONS WITHIN PRINCE SULTAN IN ABDUL AZIZ MEDICAL CAMPAIGN. RIYADH COUNCIL UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF PRINCE SALMAN IBN ABUDL AZIZ STUDIES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF SHAREHOLDING COMPANIES FOR THE NATIONAL EDUCATION. SAUDI ARABIA AT THE UN IN GENEVA: ISRAEL SHOULD PROMPTLY CEASE ITS PRACTICE OF IMPOSING BLOCKADES AND CLOSURES, AS WELL AS ITS SETTLEMENT POLICY AND ITS CONSTRUCTION OF THE APARTHEID WALL. TOURISM IN SAUDI ARABIA. SR 4 BILLION TO IMPROVE KING ABDUL AZIZ AIRPORT IN JEDDAH. The fourth Prince Sultan campaign for primary medical care has started under the directives of Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General. Brigadier Dr Nasser Ibn Othman Al-Shehri, supervisor of the field hospital said the health service department of the armed forces represented by Major General Dr Kutab Al Otaibi has adopted the project in Hail region and provides services to citizens. The Director of the hospital Brigadier Dr Nasser Ibn Othman Al-Shehri said the hospital is a series of mobile vehicles for operations, emergencies, intensive care, and all other specialties. The hospital employs Saudis with cardio consultants for children and adults. The field hospital in Hail received more than 6500 patients within Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz project for health care. The Director of the hospital Brigadier Dr Nasser Ibn Othman Al-Shehri said that the clinics include 18 Saudi doctors in different specializations, adding that the hospital will write reports on all medical cases, which can not be treated at the hospital in order to treat them in the armed forces hospitals. The Director of the hospital Brigadier Dr Nasser Ibn Othman Al-Shehri said the campaign is very popular and will continue for 15 days that might be extended upon the request of a number of patients. Meantime Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General donated for the foundation of a clinic in the village of Al Thabet in the southern region. The clinic will include surgeries for men and women, a dental surgery, a laboratory, and an X-ray center. On the other hand Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, governor of Riyadh region has lead the meeting of the region Council in its second session. During the meeting they discussed the agenda and reviewed reports presented by the councils' preparatory committees which included a number of studies concerning issues of some governmental department and a number of recommendations presented by members of the council as well as from some citizens, aiming at developing services in the field of education, health, economy and other service areas. The Secretary General of the Council Sulaiman Al Qannas said after the meeting that the council reviewed the national strategy of population development and agreed on planning permissions in some villages. He added that the council has also discussed the demands of owner of national schools who wish to the found new schools. The education committee in the council proposed the establishment of a company or companies investment companies for education. He said that the council agreed to discuss the issue. Al Qannas said the council discussed the youth summer holidays and the importance of providing them with beneficial physical and behavioural services under the supervision of specialists in the field. The council also discussed the increase in bank loans and the project of establishing specialized dental centers. On the other hand Saudi Arabia, said that Israel should promptly cease its practice of imposing blockades and closures, as well as its settlement policy and its construction of the Apartheid wall. Saudi Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Dr Abdul Wahab Attar said during the 61st session of the Commission on Human Rights on Question of Violation of Human Rights in Occupied Arab Territories, that Israeli acts violates the United Nations resolutions and the rights of the Palestinian people. "The issues of the wall, the settlements and the imposition of blockades had not been resolved and there were no indications that those policies would be relaxed. On the contrary, there was every indication that those policies would be continued and expanded in defiance of the United Nations resolutions, including the resolutions of the Commission", Attar said. He added that Israel should immediately abandon its dangerous schemes to alter the character of the city of Jerusalem and severe the city's links with its West Bank environment through the separation wall and the ongoing frantic expansion of settlements within its confines. Attar also affirmed that Israeli practices and violations "were not aimed solely at the Palestinian people". "On the contrary, the population of southern Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan were also being subjected to inhuman practices and violations of their rights. The Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan since 1967 constituted a violation of human rights and a challenge to United Nations resolutions and international law". Ambassador Dr Abdul Wahab Attar said although the Palestinians had so far made tireless endeavours to achieve a truce, Israel's response to all the positive steps taken by the Palestinian people had been extremely limited. The issues of the wall, the settlements and the imposition of blockades had not been resolved and there were no indications that those policies would be relaxed. On the contrary, there was every indication that those policies would be continued and expanded in defiance of the United Nations resolutions, including the resolutions of the Commission. Israel should promptly cease its practice of imposing blockades and closures, as well as its settlement policy and its construction of the separation wall, all of which violated United Nations resolutions and the rights of the Palestinian people. Israel should immediately abandon its dangerous schemes to alter the character of the city of Jerusalem and severe the city's links with its West Bank environment through the separation wall and the ongoing frantic expansion of settlements within its confines. Israeli practices and violations were not aimed solely at the Palestinian people. On the contrary, the population of southern Lebanon and the occupied Syrian Golan were also being subjected to inhuman practices and violations of their rights. The Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan since 1967 constituted a violation of human rights and a challenge to United Nations resolutions and international law. The right of the Syrian people to recover the occupied Syrian Golan should be emphasized. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stressed the rights of the Palestinian people to live in dignity on the land of their ancestors, as stipulated in the relevant United Nations human rights agreements. The Saudi permanent representative to the European headquarters of United Nations in Geneva, Dr Abdul Wahab Attar, said that Israel will never enjoy security and stability as long as it continues to violate the basic rights of the Palestinians and flagrantly breach the principles of human rights, international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention, and United Nations resolutions, The violent Israeli operations against the defenceless Palestinian people have engendered profound misgivings concerning any initiative on the part of the Government of Israel, which has officially declared that it is seeking an Israeli peace that reflects the supremacy of Israel's overwhelming power as compared with that of the Palestinian people. Israel will never enjoy security and stability as long as its continues to deny basic rights and engage in violations and practices that constitute a flagrant and manifest breach of the principles of human rights, international humanitarian law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and United Nations resolutions. Although there is a glimmer of hope in recent declarations concerning a resumption of the peace process, after the Sharm El-Sheikh conference the ultimate responsibility still lies with Israel, which is evidently paying no heed to United Nations resolutions, including the resolutions of this Commission, or to the pacts and agreements that it has concluded with the Palestinians. For their part, the Arab States, wishing to restore security and stability and ensure that the Palestinian people recover their rights in the occupied Arab territories, adopted the initiative of H.R.H. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, proposed at the Beirut Summit, which affirmed that the peace chosen by the Arabs and Palestine was an irrevocable, strategic option that provided a means to break the deadlock reached in the peace process. Dr Attar said while reviewing some aspects of Israeli violations, we should not forget that, far from being confined to the defenceless Palestinian people, these violations also extend to the Syrian people living under the yoke of Israeli occupation in the Golan Heights, who are denied their basic rights to freedom of movement, education and health. This Commission should call upon the Government of Israel fully to comply with the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly concerning the need to terminate the occupation and put an end to the suffering of the Syrian population of the Golan Heights. The series of Israeli violations extends even further. Israel is still refusing to deliver landmines map in southern Lebanon, and continues its practices, including humiliation and torture, against Lebanese citizens, whom it is detaining without trial, constitute violations of human rights, as does its deliberate withholding of maps showing the location of mines. Accordingly, this Commission should, once again, call upon the Government of Israel to release the Lebanese detainees whom it is holding and permit the International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian organizations to visit the detainees and ascertain their situation. Peace cannot be established by treaties or agreements that fail to take into consideration the experiences and wishes of the peoples concerned. Moreover, there is a danger that, if silence on the part of the international community, including this Commission, in the face of the sufferings of the Palestinian people were interpreted as impotence or acquiescence, we could lose our credibility at a time when we are all aware of the importance of enhancing the effectiveness of the Commission's role and ensuring that its recommendations and resolutions are respected. In this context Dr Attar added that he welcomes the report submitted to the Commission by Mr John Dugard, the Special Reporter on the situation in occupied Palestinian territories, as well as his previous reports, which, on the whole, reflect the true state of affairs. The Saudi delegate said peace cannot be established by treaties or agreements that fail to take into consideration the experiences and wishes of the peoples concerned. Moreover, there is a danger that, if silence on the part of the international community, including this Commission, in the face of the sufferings of the Palestinian people were interpreted as impotence or acquiescence, we could lose our credibility at a time when we are all aware of the importance of enhancing the effectiveness of the Commission's role and ensuring that its recommendations and resolutions are respected. Meanwhile the Cabinet had stressed its commitment to the contents of the Kingdom's speech, which was delivered in the 61st session of the United Nations International Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The Kingdom affirmed that the responsibility of preserving human rights should be shouldered by governments as they are supported by civil organizations and international institutions including the Human Rights Commission; the Kingdom had laid emphasis on the development of citizens and societies in agreement with their peculiarities and needs, but not in accordance with theories and ideas imposed from abroad. The Kingdom also emphasized that the programs of development, modernization and growth can not be accomplished without appropriate conditions and atmospheres, particularly the achievement of peace, stability and peace in the Middle East which has mostly suffered from the absence of stability, security and peace due to the Israeli occupation of Arab territories. On the other hand Saudi Arabia stressed its absolute support for countries' right in development and said that development that is not based on respect of human rights is bound to fail. The remarks came in a speech delivered by Saudi permanent representative at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva Dr. Abdulwahab Attar before the Human Rights Committee's debate on right in development. Dr. Attar highlighted Saudi contribution to the finance of development efforts in the world. He explained that Saudi Arabia relieved a great number of poor countries of due debts totaling USD6 billion. Dr. Attar called on donor countries to help in relieving poor countries of the burden of foreign debts. Dr Abdul Wahab A. Attar said the progress of the Working Group on the right to development had made in promoting access to the right to development was to be commended. It was note-worthy that during the six sessions of the Working Group, progress had been made in this right, and it was hoped this would continue. The state of inertia, which had impeded the realisation of this right should not be allowed to continue. Development that was not based on respect for human rights was doomed to failure. Human rights would remain in usury as long as the economic and social elements of development were neglected. The full realisation of the right to development was the best way of achieving all other human rights. It was hoped the Working Group would soon formulate specific criteria for the implementation of this right. Without equality among rights, in particular the right to development, all other rights would suffer. Unconditional support should be given to the developing countries that were rich in culture and history. Greater support should be given to these countries by the international community. The Government of Saudi Arabia had contributed significantly to the funding of development in many countries, and had waived $ 6 billion owed in this context in order to strengthen the efforts of these countries. On the other hand Saudi ARAMCO's Deputy Senior Executive Officer for Gas Works Khalid Abdul Aziz Al-Falih has recently emphasized the significant role of ARAMCO as a major exporter of energy in the world along with its petrochemical industries. Addressing the World Forum on Oil and Gas in 2005 in Florida, the United States of America, he noted that the company is one of the biggest companies in the world, citing the large reserves of oil and natural gas it possesses. Al-Falih pointed out that one of the company's important goals lies in helping to stabilize the market in accordance with a strategy set by the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To achieve this strategy, ARAMCO's producing capacity will reach a surplus ranging between 1.5 and 2 million barrels of oil a day. Khalid A. Al-Falih, senior vice president of Gas Operations, reiterated Saudi Aramco's role as a major energy provider to the world and supplier to the Kingdom's emerging petrochemicals industry before an influential audience recently at the 2005 World Oil and Gas Forum in Palm Beach, Florida. Explaining first the company's rapid development and ultimate stature as a national oil company, he cited Saudi Aramco's pivotal role in building a solid base of economic power on which the nation launched its infrastructure. From that has grown the world's largest exporter of crude oil and a leading holder of oil and natural gas reserves. These resources, he said, are an "extraordinary endowment" that calls for responsible management in the world's oil market and overall economy. Such responsibility is bolstered by the company's remarkable capacity to sustain high oil production in times of uncertainty and to help stabilize the global market as needs change. "One of our overriding goals is to help maintain market stability, in accordance with the strategy set by the Saudi Arabian government," he said. "In fact, one of the Kingdom's strategies for stabilizing international oil markets and economies is based on Saudi Aramco maintaining surplus production capacity of between 1.5 and 2 million barrels per day." Al-Falih, who addressed the forum March 10, went on to describe steps the company is taking to ensure future oil supplies. He noted the recent inauguration of the Qatif increment, and the soon-to-be-added production of 500,000 bpd from the Abu Hadriya, Fadhili and Khursaniyah fields. Further efforts to secure future oil markets extend internationally, with Saudi Aramco's joint-venture partnerships, Al-Falih said. He specifically noted the company's recent acquisition of a stake in Japan's Showa Shell Sekiyu and current negotiations with Sinopec to establish joint ventures in Fujian and Qingdao in China. Al-Falih described Saudi Aramco's unique role as the Kingdom's national oil company by noting three dimensions to its strategic direction: as global energy provider, commercial entity and driver of domestic development. He stressed that the three dimensions should be viewed "not as competing interests but as complementary criteria for success." While all three are important, he noted, domestic development is especially crucial because it means new business opportunities and more jobs. He gave specific examples: "We have already begun to reap the benefits of our efforts, (such as) the proposed Rabigh refining petrochemical complex on the Kingdom's Red Sea coast, which we are partnering on with Sumitomo Chemical of Japan." Al-Falih said Saudi Aramco is integral to the nation's progress by way of its continuing gas development program. One of the examples he cited was the invitation by the Saudi government for foreign investment in the upstream gas sector, which has led to the formation of four major joint ventures, of which Saudi Aramco is a key partner with leading international oil companies. These joint ventures underlie the strength of Saudi Aramco's partnership record and bode well for decades to come. As the company has established its firm stance by sustained oil production capacity in good times and bad, the continued development of the gas sector is a major part of the vision for the future. "Our commitment to domestic economic development on a commercial basis is unwavering and focused on the future," he concluded. "After all, even as we meet the energy needs of Saudi Arabia and the world today, we are laying the groundwork for a prosperous future for us all." Meanwhile Three Academies for Tourism Studies will be established in different parts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. One of the Academies will be set up at Metro Bletan Palace in Makkah, according to Abdullah Bin Daud Al-Fayez , Undersecretary at Makkah Governorate. Moves to develop the Saudi tourism sector accelerated when Prince Abdul Aziz Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdullah, Deputy Secretary General of the Supreme Commission for Tourism (SCT) launched STC's program to create jobs for Saudis in the sector. He said SCT will undertake this year a cooperative marketing program for tourist products covering all parts of the Kingdom. "We are also in the process of issuing a tourist and travel directory covering all the investment rules in the industry," he said. Meanwhile, Bander Ibn Fahd Al-Fuhaid , chairman of the National Hajj and Umrah National Committee in the member states of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), announced that arrangements are being made for the establishment of a tourism investment company with a starting capital of SR500 million. He said the company would invest in a wide range of tourist activities, especially in constructing hotels, transportation, support services and catering services for Umrah and Hajj companies. It will also invest in some islands such as Farasan Islands in the southern Red Sea. He said the company, to be based in Jeddah, would come up with travel packages for domestic tourism. In a related development, Prince Sultan Bin Salman, SCT Secretary General, stated that the Commission is in the process of establishing a tourist-security sector. He said that the project is concerned with a study on factors threatening the growth of this vital industry and that plans are being drawn up for training a national tourism security cadre. Women have a key role to play in the Saudi tourism industry, he stressed. He said SCT is making arrangement to absorb women in the sector. Prince Sultan Bin Salman said the strategy is to employ about 1.5 million job seekers in the tourism field in the next 20 years The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is committed to developing tourism as part of its overall economic diversification strategy. The Tourism Higher Authority has been given the task of overseeing a massive expansion in the Kingdom's tourist facilities and services. Part of the plan is to train and employ a large number of young Saudis in this expanding industry. In 2001, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, laid the foundation stone of the Prince Sultan College for Tourist and Hotel Management in its new location in Sultan City along Abha regional airport road. Amongst the various tourist expansion projects is "Al-Hada Resort, Cable Car and Al-Kar Tourist Village" project in Taif Governorate, the first phase of which was launched in 2001. The SR 70 million-project, in its first phase, includes the 4,200 meters-long cable car route that connects the high altitude area of Al-Hada with the low altitude area of Al-Kar village. It includes hotels, restaurants, family parks and playgrounds. In January, 2003, Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the Tourism Higher Authority, announced the launch of a period of intensive development of tourism in the Kingdom, during which "efforts would be intensified, capabilities mobilized, and tourism organizations established". He emphasized that the Authority would fully cooperate with various partners in public and private sectors, and with individuals through executive plans, timed programs and other mechanisms, to develop national tourism and facilitate an environment of tourist investment. The Prince predicted that there would be 45.3 million tourists in the year 2020, and a tourist expenditure of 80 billion riyals. He noted that this would require great investment from the private sector, to provide 50,000 hotel rooms and 74,000 housing units, and to train and qualify between 1.5 and 2.3 million Saudi nationals to work in the sector. Through the good offices of the Tourism Higher Authority, the energies of various ministries and other organizations are contributing to the development of tourism. When, in January, 2003, Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the Tourism Higher Authority, inaugurated a workshop on the preparation of natural heritage sites for tourism, the session was attended by Dr Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Muammar, the Minister of Agriculture, and Dr Abdul Aziz Ibn Hamid Abu Zinadah, Secretary General of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and its Development (NCWCD). On that occasion, Prince Sultan pointed out that Saudi tourism has reached a phase of intensive development. He affirmed that the Authority would cooperate fully with partners in public and private sectors, via executive plans, staged programs and other mechanisms, in order to accomplish this goal. The Minister of Agriculture was able to say that the areas of natural forest in the Kingdom are estimated at 2.7 million hectares, and those of natural pastures at 170 million hectares, the home for some 2,000 plant species. He added that the Ministry has established many national parks at sites of natural forests in different regions of the Kingdom. For his part, Dr Abu Zinadah praised the cooperation between NCWCD and the Tourism Authority, highlighting the Commission's contribution to tourism development. On the other hand it has been decided to expand the facilities at King Abdul Aziz airport in Jeddah to serve the new generation of Airbus 380. The Chairman of the Civil Aviation Organization Engineer Abdullah Al Rahimi said the primary budget is expected to be around SR 4 billion. The development work will include the improvement of current halls so as to cover all areas of the airport. The Chairman of the Civil Aviation Organization expects that the airport will be able to receive in the first stage 30 million travellers per year to be increased to 60 millions, and according to him the budget has been allocated for the improvement of the airport.