May 12, 2006

THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES CHAIRS THE MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF KING ABDUL AZIZ PUBLIC LIBRARY. KING ABDULLAH PATRONIZES THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY. PRINCE SALMAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ ATTENDS THE SHOURA COUNCIL MEETING TO DISCUSS THE ANNUAL REPORT ON THE PERFORMANCE OF DARAT KING ABDUL AZIZ. THE CONCLUSION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SAUDI UNIVERSITIES' SCIENTIFIC DAYS AT AUSTRIAN UNIVERSITIES. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud chaired the 20th meeting of the Board of Directors of King Abdulaziz Public Library held in Riyadh. Following the meeting, Faisal Ibn Abdul Rahman Ibn Mu'ammar, Advisor at the Royal Court and General Supervisor of the library, said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the members of the board listened to the instructions of King Abdullah who was also briefed on the latest developments in the facility. Mu'ammar said there is general consensus that the library must follow and make use of the modern technology in the field of information, knowledge and communications. He said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ordered the change of the title of the unified bibliography to become the Arab unified bibliography. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah instructed authorities to improve the overall condition of the country's libraries and information centers, making use of modern technology and the tremendous flow of information about all cultures and human knowledge. "King Abdullah also emphasized the importance of conducting research, studies and translations (to and from other languages) of different sciences, knowledge, literature and arts," said Faisal Ibn Muammar, adviser at the royal court and supervisor of the King Abdul Aziz Public Library in Riyadh. King Abdullah made his comments while presiding over a meeting of the library's board of directors. He also urged libraries and information centers to intensify their efforts in making use of modern information technology to preserve Arab and Islamic calligraphy as well as Arab culture. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques heard a report on King Abdul Aziz Library's program to promote people's interest in books. He was also briefed on the Encyclopedia of Saudi Arabia, another project being implemented by the library. He inspected the encyclopedia's first volumes on Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and the Eastern Province. "The king wants the encyclopedia in both Arabic and English and made available on the Internet," Ibn Muammar told the Saudi Press Agency after the board meeting. King Abdullah called for joint efforts in the service of Islam and the Kingdom. "We have to promote the true teachings of Islam and reject religious extremism," he quoted the king as saying. The king later toured the King Abdul Aziz Public Library and glanced through its rare documents, calligraphic writings, books, maps and the library's own publications. There are six branches of the library: two each for men, women and children. The Saudi-funded King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Islamic Studies and Humanitarian Sciences in Casablanca, Morocco would also be part of the new initiative. In a recent statement, Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said his ministry was currently working on a project to reorganize public libraries, allocating specific days and times for women. He said this was taken in response to demands from intellectuals, including women. Madani also spoke about his ministry's efforts to improve the standard of libraries in the country, in coordination with the Education Ministry, by supplying them with an adequate number of books and transforming them into recognized cultural institutions. "We hope that we can introduce changes and reforms to these libraries as we know that they are an important part of the cultural scene in every city, town and village. We want to make them a cultural institution with multifarious activities," Madani told a seminar titled "Public Libraries in the Kingdom: Present Challenges and Future Prospects." There are nearly 80 public libraries in the Kingdom and most of them are attached to universities and colleges. The Culture and Information Ministry took over the responsibility of libraries from the Ministry of Education two years ago. On the other hand Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz will patronize the celebrations of King Saud University on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. A large number of officials have been invited to the event which will include a speech ceremony, a documentary on KSU as will as honouring its alumnis. The King Saud University was founded in 1957 (1376/77 AH) as the Riyadh University and renamed in 1982 (1402/03 AH), had more than 2,600 teachers and more than 45,000 students in 2000/2001. As one of the first institutions of higher education in Saudi Arabia, it has on its register more than a quarter of all the Kingdom's university level students (male and female) and more than one-third of all the Kingdom's university and administrative staff. There are Colleges of Administrative Sciences, Agriculture, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (in Al-Qasim), Architecture and Planning, Arts, Computer Sciences, Dentistry, Economics and Administration (in Al-Qasim), Education (also in Abha), Engineering, Languages and Translation, Medicine (also in Abha and Al-Qasim), Applied Medical Sciences, Pharmacy and Science. There is also a College for Graduate Studies, a Center for Women's University Studies and an Arabic Language Institute, a Center for Continuing Education and an Institute of Languages. In an address to the nation, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz emphasized that he would leave no stone unturned in his efforts to promote the welfare and prosperity of the Saudi people. "Every citizen of this beloved country should know I have assumed this historic trust keeping in my mind your concerns, hopes and aspirations," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the king as saying. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques added that he would give top priority to the interest of the nation, its people and the Islamic faith. King Abdullah gave the address to thank the Saudi people for the sincere feelings they had expressed through cables, letters and press statements after a royal decree slashing the prices of petrol and diesel to 60 and 25 halalas, respectively. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said he was happy about the unity of the Saudi people. "I will exert all-out efforts in your service. If I do anything right, it is thanks to God and His Blessings and if there is any mistake, it comes from me," he said. King Abdullah said he had decided to cut petrol and diesel prices because he understood the problems and needs of the Saudi people. "It's an expression of our joint aspirations and our quest for a brighter future by the grace of God," he added. In his brief speech, King Abdullah described Saudi Arabia as a Kingdom of monotheism, unity and humaneness and urged the Saudi people to stand united like one body with a single soul having a firm will. Since his ascent to the throne in August 2005, King Abdullah has taken a series of steps to improve the welfare and well-being of the Saudi people. He ordered a 15 percent pay rise for all Saudi employees, including military officers, and increased by 15 percent the financial remuneration of Shoura Council members. The maximum social insurance allocation for families was raised from SR16,200 to SR28,000 annually. He also allocated more than SR80 billion from the 2005 budget surplus for educational, health and other welfare projects. A humanitarian king, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz was the first to visit poor neighbourhoods in the capital three years ago and to launch a series of schemes to fight poverty in various parts of the country. He has allocated SR10 billion from the budget surplus to build low-cost housing units for the poor and needy in various parts of the Kingdom. He instructed the Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Foundation, a charity named in his honor, to expand its housing projects all over the Kingdom for the benefit of underprivileged sections of Saudi society. Meanwhile Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the governor of Riyadh region, patronized the concluding ceremony for an award named after him organized by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call and Guidance at King Faisal Hall in the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh. The award is open to boys and girls for memorizing the Holy Quran Prince Salman was received at the venue by the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call and Guidance Shiekh Saleh Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Al Sheikh, the Under Secretaries of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Call and Guidance and a number of officials at the Ministry. The ceremony started with readings from the Holy Quran then in an address on the occasion, Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh region said: "This country feels pride and is honoured that its constitution is based on the Quran, which will remain a precious possession for all of us for ever." Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz added: "We do not accept anything which does not conform with our constitution, namely the Holy Quran. But we welcome anything that benefits the people, especially such regulations that are not in contravention of the Holy Quran." Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz praised the efforts exerted by Ulamas in field of Quran memorization and emphasized their role in Quran education. He praised the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz for their leadership and for the care accorded to the Holy Book. Under the patronage of Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz Holy Quran Memorization Contest had started its 8th session. As many as 101 contestants took in the competition. In a press statement on this occasion, Sheikh Salih Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Al-Sheikh, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance and Chairman of Supreme Council of Holy Quran Memorization Charities expressed his gratitude to Prince Salman for paying all financial expenditures of the prize which annually exceed SR 1.5 million. Presided over by its Chairman Dr. Salih Ibn Abdullah Ibn Homaid, the Shoura Council held an ordinary session in Riyadh. The session was attended by Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh region, Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives and General Supervisor of King Fahd National Library. During the session, members of the council discussed with Prince Salman reports on the performance of the King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives and King Fahd National Library. The Secretary General of the Shoura Council Dr. Salih Ibn Abdullah Al Malik said in a statement following the session that during the session, the Council also discussed and then approved a draft agreement on cooperation in the fields of security and combating narcotics between Saudi Arabia and Turkey and a draft agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Philippines on mutual promotion and protection of investments. Under the patronage of Prince Majed Ibn Abdul Aziz, the governor of Madinah region, minister of Islamic affairs, endowments, call and guidance Sheikh Saleh Al Al-sheikh signed an agreement for the development of Madinah-based King Abdul Aziz Library. The signing ceremony was also be attended by Dr Ahmad Mohammed Ali, the president of the Islamic development bank (IDB). Dr Abdul-Rahman Al-Mazeeni, the director general of the library, said the library, which is established on an area of 5,500 square meters near the Prophet's Mosque, contains 1,960 manuscripts of the Holy Quran, 14, 000 other manuscripts, 25 rare books, 70,000 recently published books, 100 thesis works and more than 200 periodicals. It also contains 30 endowed libraries, notably the library of the Holy Quran, Madinah library, the library of Sheikh Aref Hikamat, and Mahmoudiah library . He noted that the library is keen on supporting researches and translation works as well as on organization of book shows, seminars and conferences and supporting all matters that may benefit the Islamic and Arabic heritage. In Vienna the deliberations of the Saudi Universities' Scientific Days at Austrian Universities were concluded. The deliberations included medical, historical, social and economic seminars in addition to seven scientific exhibitions representing the scientific research development in Saudi Universities. The Saudi delegation was led by Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khalid Ibn Muhammad Al-Anqari, including many universities' academics. During the deliberations, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between Saudi Ministry of Higher Education and Austrian Ministry of Education and Culture pertaining to cooperation in educational and cultural fields. The last day of the deliberations witnessed a seminar about women education and its impact on the society in addition to a literature seminar. The Minister of Higher Education Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari had inaugurated on April 24 the five-day educational-cultural event in Vienna to highlight the Kingdom's progress in that field. The event, the sixth in a series, is different from "Saudi Arabia Yesterday and Today" in that the focus is on the Kingdom's strides on the scientific, educational and cultural fronts. Previous venues of the event known as "Saudi Scientific Cultural Days" include the UAE, the US, Morocco, Jordan and Syria. Austrian Ambassador Dr. Friedrich Stift said that the event marks a continuation of the strong bilateral relations, which were strengthened by the state visit of President Dr. Heinz Fischer. "Both Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and President Fischer expressed their wish to intensify bilateral relations not only in the political and economic field but also in culture and education," said the ambassador. Dr. Stift, who served earlier as Austria's economic counsellor in Riyadh, said Saudi students had started enrolling in courses in medicine and dentistry. Currently, 13 students are pursuing postgraduate courses in medicine, for which the medium of instruction is English. They are also visiting the country as tourists. Saad Al-Haqan, public relations manager at the Ministry of Higher Education, said Vienna was selected since Austria currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU. It also marks the Kingdom's move to strengthen relations with the EU. "I wish to thank the Austrian Embassy for its cooperation in organizing this event, which is intended to show what Saudi Arabia has achieved in the fields of science, technology and other disciplines," said Al-Haqan. A 20-member delegation, including 10 female academics from various universities, went to Vienna. Besides an exhibition that was held on the sidelines of the event, other highlights included a book fair featuring the works in English of Saudi writers, poetry recitation, cultural programs and archaeological monuments of the Kingdom.