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July 7, 2006 |
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PRINCE SULTAN: THE SAUDI ARMED FORCES ARE RELIGIOUS AND LOYAL TO THE STATE, THE KING AND THE PEOPLE AND THEY ARE AN ISLAMIC AND ARAB FORCE. THE CROWN PRINCE PAYS A VISIT TO FRANCE AT THE END OF THE MONTH UPON AN INVITATION FROM THE FRENCH PRESIDENT CHIRAC. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, arrived in Assir Region to inaugurate the Sixth Armed Forces Exhibition. At Abha regional airport, he was received by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, the Governor of Assir Region, a number of princes, ministers, and senior civil and military officials. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, graced the grand festival and dinner party held in his honor tonight in Abha by Abha Governorate. Upon arrival at the venue of the festival, he was received by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , the Governor of Assir Region, princes, senior officials and the region's dignitaries. A speech ceremony was held with Prince Khalid Al-Faisal addressing the gathering and welcoming Crown Prince Sultan. The occasions were attended by a number of princes and officials. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, left heading for Assir Region to inaugurate the Sixth Armed Forces Exhibition. At King Abdul Aziz International airport, he was seen off by a number of princes, ministers, senior civil and military officials. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, inaugurated the Armed Forces and Security Sectors sixth Exhibition at King Khalid air base. Upon arrival at the venue, he was received by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , Governor of Assir Region, Prince Faisal Ibn Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor of Assir Region, senior Armed Forces commanders, and dignitaries. Then he unveiled the exhibition's plaque and cut the ribbon, a signal of opening the event. Then he toured the exhibition while being briefed on its contents by commanders and guides. Then he saw aerobatic shows by the land, air and navy forces pilots. Using robes, a naval task force carried out an exciting air parachuting exercise to rescue an hypothetical hostage. The event was attended by princes and senior civil and military officials. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, graced the folkloric and dinner parties held in his honour by the command of the Southern Region. Accompanied by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , the Governor of Assir Region, Crown Prince Sultan was received by Prince Faisal Ibn Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor of Assir Region, and Command of the Southern Region Major General Omer Ibn Hasan Babaeer. A speech ceremony was held and a number of princes and senior civil and military officials also attended the event. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, stressed that Saudi Armed Forces have been religious and loyal to the state, King and people and they have been an Islamic and Arab force, praying to Almighty Allah to bestow strength upon them. Replying to reporters following his patronization of inauguration of Khamis Musheit Armed Forces 6th Expo, Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz said that we intend to open two technical colleges, one of them will be in Abha. Crown Prince Sultan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, denied charges that the Kingdom is offering assistance to Somalia's Islamic Court Union (ICU). He was speaking at a press conference following the opening of an armed forces exhibition. The allegations stem, in part, from comments made by Jendayi Frazer, the head of the Bureau of African Affairs at the US State Department, during a June 29 hearing at the House's International Relations Committee. Frazer did not directly accuse the Saudi government of funding Somalia's ICU, but said that money is flowing from the Kingdom and Yemen in support of the Islamic courts, which recently ousted the faltering transitional government of a country that has been in a state of anarchy since the early 1990s. The United States is openly supporting the transitional government factions that oppose the ICU, and has placed the head of the Islamic courts, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, on its list of Al-Qaeda associates. US officials claim that ICU control of Somalia would result in creating a terrorist haven in East Africa. After denying the Saudi government's involvement in funding the Islamic courts in Somalia, the Crown Prince also referred to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah's recent declaration of amnesty for deviant Saudis who turn themselves in to authorities. "Those who are good to the country and religion will surrender and others will have to be held accountable," said the Crown Prince. As to his forthcoming visit to France, he said we will hear good news. With regard to the extension of the period by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz for some wanted by security authorities, Crown Prince Sultan said that anyone who is good for his religion and the present life will surrender, otherwise everyone will shoulder his responsibility. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, donated SR 10 million for completion of Maritime Park Projects of the Armed Forces in Huraidhah. The Crown Prince announced this donation during a dinner party held in his honor by the Command of the Southern Region here on Wednesday evening. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, paid a visit on Wednesday evening to Al-Musheit Family in Khamis Musheit Governorate. Upon arrival at the venue, the Crown Prince was received by the Governor of Khamis Musheit Abdul Aziz Ibn Saeed Ibn Musheit, all members of the family and a group of citizens. In his speech, the Governor expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the Crown Prince for this visit, considering it as an extension of the Kingdom leaders' care of and interest in citizens. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, held a dinner party at his palace in honour of the dignitaries and people of Assir Region and senior commanders and officers of the armed forces of the Southern Region. The event was attended by Prince Khalid Al-Faisal , the Governor of Assir Region, his deputy Prince Faisal bin Khalid Ibn Abdul Aziz, other princes, and a number of officials. At a reception at the same venue an opera called 'Message to the Nation', composed by Abdullah Al-Sherif and performed by young artist Abbas Ibrahim and several servicemen, was held. According to the producer of the program, 456 artists participated in the opera. A thrilling fireworks and a light and sound show added colour to the festive occasion. The participants received mementoes and presents from the crown prince. A number of princes and dignitaries attended the program. Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, was briefed by Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Secretary General of the Higher Commission for Tourism, on the plan to develop five selected sites in the Kingdom. According to the plan, five historical villages were selected for new touristic sites. They are Al-Ghat village (Riyadh Region), Al-Ola (Madina Region), Rijal Alma (Assir Region) , Bijba (Hael Region) and Ze Ain (Al-Baha Region). Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General, has donated SR 5 million in support of Civilization Center in Namas Governorate. The Governor of Namas Saeed Ali Mubarak Al-Qahtani expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the Crown Prince for this valuable gift for the center. |
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