|
|
July 14, 2006 |
|
||
|
|
|
|
||
|
|||||
THE SUMMIT REVIEWS THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS ON THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA AND ASPECTS OF COOPERATION BETWEEN SAUDI ARABIA AND YEMEN AND WAYS OF ENHANCING THEM. UNDER THE CHAIRMANSHIP OF PRINCE NAIF IBN ABDUL AZIZ THE SUPREME COMMISSION ON TOURISM ISSUES A NUMBER OF DECISIONS AND APPROVES ITS WORKING PROGRAM FOR THE NEXT PERIOD. THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON JUSTICE, WORLD PEACE AND PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE IN A PLURALISTIC SOCIETY CONCLUDES ITS DELIBERATIONS IN COLOMBO. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen held an official round of talks at Jeddah-based King Abdul Aziz International Airport. At the outset of the meeting, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques welcomed President Saleh and his accompanying delegation, wishing him good stay. On his part, President Saleh thanked the Kingdom's leadership for warm welcome and generous hospitality. Then they discussed the overall incidents in the region, led by the developments of the Palestinian issue and situation in Iraq. Also discussed during the meeting, were the latest developments at the international arena, in addition to aspects of cooperation between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields. The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes, and ministers. On the Yemeni side, the meeting was attended by President Saleh's accompanying delegation including Yemen's Ambassador to the Kingdom Mohammad Ali Al-Ahwal. Then President Saleh and accompanying delegation had lunch with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen arrived in Jeddah coming from Riyadh on a state visit to the Kingdom. At King Abdul Aziz International Airport, he was received by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes, senior protocol officials, civil and military officials and Yemen's Ambassador to the Kingdom Mohamemd Ali Al-Ahwal. President Saleh was accompanied by an official delegation. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen arrived in Riyadh on a private visit to the kingdom. At Riyadh airbase, he was received by Prince Sattam Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh region, senior officials and Yemen's Ambassador to the kingdom Mohammed Ali Mohsin Al-Ahwal. President Ali Abdullah Saleh left Riyadh after a brief private visit to the kingdom during which he was reassured of the health of the speaker of house of representatives of Yemen Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hussein Al-Ahmar who was hospitalised at King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh. At Riyadh airbase, the president was seen off by Prince Sattam Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh region, senior officials and Yemen's ambassador to the kingdom Mohammad Ali Mohsin Al-Ahwal. President Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen left Jeddah after a brief visit to the Kingdom. At King Abdul Aziz International Airport, he was seen off by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes, ministers, senior protocol officials, civil and military officials and Yemen's Ambassador to the Kingdom Mohammad Ali Al-Ahwal. Meantime the Yemeni Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mohammad Ali Al-Ahwal said that the session would focus on the latest regional and international developments in addition to discussing the means of enhancing the bilateral relations in various areas. Al-Ahwal said that President Saleh's visit came in the framework of the regular meetings between the political leaderships in the two brotherly countries, pointing out that President Saleh's letter, conveyed last week by the Interior Minister Rashid al-Alimi, was related to coordinate the two countries' attitudes toward the security and terrorism issues. On the other hand Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior and Chairman of Board of Directors of Supreme Commission for Tourism chaired the board's 14th meeting. In a press statement following the meeting, Prince Naif emphasized the role being played by the Commission to develop tourism sector in the Kingdom, pointing out that the Commission has exerted intensive efforts and has concluded working draft agreements with a number of governmental bodies and Kingdom's regions. He urged governmental bodies on cooperating with the Commission and its partners, indicating that the board unanimously approved a number of decisions and a Commission's working program in the next period in accordance with directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz and the Crown Prince. Prince Naif denied the presence of Sphinx in Hail Region, noting that the news was fabricated and published in a newspaper. The meeting discussed the extra arrangements made in various parts of the Kingdom to make tourism a resounding success this summer. The meeting also reviewed the report submitted by SCT's Secretary-General Prince Sultan Ibn Salman on SCT's performance in the past year and its need to achieve the objectives of the Kingdom's tourism strategy. The decisions taken by the SCT meeting includes among many things the approval for the first tourist investment expo to be held next March, development of heritage villages and sites and regulations governing donations to the commission based on the relevant clauses in the commission's regulations. The meeting also approved the new organizational structure of the commission's secretariat. It ordered the completion of the second stage of the studies of the tourism security plan prepared by the general secretariat in collaboration with the Interior Ministry. The board endorsed the tourism promotion strategies for Tabuk, Qasim and the Northern Border Region. Other decisions of the SCT board includes the draft for the tourism development strategy of the Red Sea zone, the decision to improve the service centers on the provincial roads, coordination between the SCT and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the matter of developing tourism related sectors and classifying hotels and furnished apartments and the licensing regulations for tourist organizers. The meeting also discussed the report on the Tourism Manpower Development Project including the project for training workers for the tourism sector in addition to the national strategy to develop the tourism-based handicraft industry. It also discussed the higher authority's order to convene an international tourism and traditional craft conference in Riyadh in Novveber and the first tourism forum of the Muslim countries to be held in Jeddah in September. The meeting was attended by Prince Sultan Ibn Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Commission's Secretary General; Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Ibn Amin Madani; Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf; Minister of Economy and Planning Khalid Ibn Mohammed Al-Qusaibi; Minister of Education Dr. Abdullah Ibn Salih Al-Obaid; Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Ibn Abdullah Al-Manie; Undersecretary of Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs for Technical Affairs Eng. Abdul Aziz Ibn Ali Al-Abdul Kareem and members of the board. On the other hand Saudi Ambassador Prince Turki al-Faisal was stunned when he learned that Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter scheduled a hearing titled "Saudi Arabia: Friend or Foe?" "Frankly, I thought that was a bit insulting to Saudis because we have never been a foe of the United States," he told the Brookings Institution in a recent speech. Prince Turki met with the Pennsylvania Republican and urged him to call whenever he had questions about Saudi foreign or domestic policies. "That is a message I want all members to hear. If you have a concern about Saudi Arabia, come to us," he said, promising to talk personally with all members of Congress or direct them to a Saudi diplomat with answers to their questions. Dealing with congressional critics is only part of the frustration the ambassador feels as he tries to continue repairing U.S.-Saudi relations that "plunged into crisis" after the attacks of September 11, 2001. Fifteen of the 19 terrorists involved were Saudi subjects. Nearly five years later, relations between the Saudi government and the Bush administration have improved greatly. However, deep suspicion remains in other quarters, he said. Most recently, the Freedom House human rights group released a study of Saudi schoolbooks that countered Saudi government insistence that intolerance has been expunged from the education system. "We don't mind criticism," Prince Turki said. "But it is the way in which Americans criticize ... that causes us concern. We often hear political rhetoric and not constructive commentary." He recognized that Americans are impatient with the pace of change in the desert kingdom and birthplace of Islam. "Americans want to see and hear about reform and change in Saudi society and political culture," he said. "This is on the agenda, but we're not going to change just because you told us to." The ambassador said his government has initiated a "national dialogue" to review "issues such as extremism, the role of women and cultural tolerance." Prince Turki said Saudi Arabia has considered itself a friend of the United States for 60 years, but the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon caused a fundamental change in Saudi society. "We all had to begin again because more than buildings collapsed that day. Relationships, understanding and security all fell apart," he said. "We had to re-examine who we thought we knew and our sense of the world around us." He noted that one American columnist wrote that since the attacks, "Saudi Arabia has gone through a state of shock, then denial, then introspection and then action." "I think that is a fair assessment," he added. The Saudi Ambassador had responded few weeks ago to Freedom House editorial, the following statement was issued by Prince Turki Al-Faisal in response to an editorial by Nina Shea, Director of the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, published in The Washington Post on May 21, 2006: The Saudi government has worked diligently during the last five years to overhaul its education system, which includes textbooks, teacher training, and the introduction of new teaching methods. To ensure optimal results, the planning, implementation and assessment of these changes are being conducted with assistance from consulting firms and national governmental and non-governmental educational institutes. All of this has been done in the public setting, with debate and open discourse taking place in National Dialogues, the Kingdom's Consultative Council, and throughout the Ministry of Information. Freedom House neglects to mention these facts. Overhauling an educational system is a massive undertaking. There are hundreds of books that are being revised to comply with the new requirements, and the process remains ongoing. The report submitted by the Embassy of Saudi Arabia to Congress earlier this year on textbook revision is by no means a final report, and was never presented as such. Again, Freedom House does not mention this fact. Moreover, the materials used in the Saudi education system are in the public domain, and are provided to students free of charge. These texts can be obtained at schools and other institutions throughout Saudi Arabia, and do need not be "smuggled" or "slipped out" of the Kingdom. As with previous reports, Freedom House continues to exhibit a disregard for presenting an accurate picture of the reality that exists in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi position on education reform has been clearly articulated by the Kingdom's political and religious leaders. The objective of the educational system is to fight intolerance and to prepare Saudi youth with the skills and knowledge to compete in the global economy. In Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse told local and foreign delegates while inaugurating the international symposium on "Justice, World Peace and Peaceful Coexistence in a Pluralistic Society" at the Colombo Hilton Hotel that Islam has taught peace, justice and peaceful coexistence with members of the other faiths, Due to security concerns, the president was addressing a fully packed audience of local and international delegates through a satellite screen. The three-day meeting was sponsored by Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL) in cooperation with the Islamic Center in Colombo. The Leader of the House and Minister of Health Care, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development Nimal Siripala De Silva, was the chief guest, while several present and former ministers and religious dignitaries were present at the inauguration. Clergymen from Buddhist, Hindu and Christian communities were also present at the meeting. "Islam is a religion that taught human values to the people," President Rajapakse said, adding that Muslims had come to Sri Lanka as traders and not invaders during the early centuries. "Muslims in the island form a compromising community which likes a peaceful lifestyle respecting their religion as well as the others. History had shown that Muslim leaders have contributed a great deal to the nation's development in several important areas such as the island's economy, education, development of infrastructure and trade." Meantime MWL Secretary-General Dr Abdullah Al-Turki said "Saudi Arabia is concerned about the unity of the world Muslim community and its peaceful coexistence with other world communities." "This symposium also highlighted the problems of Muslims in non-Muslim countries and discussed peaceful solutions," he added. Dr Al-Turki said Islam is a beautiful religion and a panacea for all human ills. He pointed out that the Kingdom, under the able leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, will endeavor to help world Muslim community when its services are needed. Mohamed Haniffa Mohamed, president of the Islamic Center and former speaker of Sri Lanka's Parliament who was chairing the inaugural session, said: "The seminar is being held at a time when everything Islamic is viewed with suspicion. It is important to remind the world of the true nature of Islam which is meant for peace, justice and peaceful coexistence." He stressed that there is a strong need for these universal values to be highlighted in the current context. "In Sri Lanka, we have lost the character of coexistence. This has resulted in mistrust and misunderstanding which have led to a breakdown of justice and peace. Even the peace process has come to a standstill due to this lapse," he added. In his speech, Siripala De Silva described Muslims as members of a tolerant society. Speaking about peace in Sri Lanka, he said it is an expensive commodity which cannot be achieved easily in the island. He commended the MWL for the initiative which propagates peace not only in Sri Lanka but in all the countries that are represented at the conference. De Silva, who leads the peace talks with the Tamil rebels, pointed out that the Sri Lankan Muslim community should be an integral part of the peace talks. "Muslim have always got their rightful place because they are a peace-loving community in the island," he said. While congratulating Saudi Arabia's endeavours to promote peace throughout the world, the minister pledged his government's support in its efforts. The international symposium on "Justice, World Peace and Peaceful Coexistence in a Pluralistic Society" sponsored by the Makkah-based Muslim World League (MWL) and locally organized by the Islamic Center in the Sri Lankan capital drew more than 50 foreign delegates and 150 local participants. Besides Rajapakse, W. Lokubandara, speaker of the Parliament, and leader of the House, Nimal Siripala de Silva, minister of Health Care, Nutrition and Uva Wellassa Development, also addressed the delegates at the opening ceremony, while Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera graced the closing session of the conference. Islamic Center President M.H. Mohamed delivered the welcome address. "This is the first ever symposium to be held in Sri Lanka on this subject. The whole idea is to inculcate in the minds of the people as to how they should coexist with others who belong to different faiths," MWL Secretary-General Abdul Mohsin Al Turki told Arab News. "We want to tell our brothers of the human values, human rights and Islam's view on Muslims' interaction with members of different communities, he added. International participants from the Gulf countries, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Sudan and other South Asian and other Arab countries have arrived for the meeting. A total of 20 scientific papers were submitted during the three-day symposium. Speakers from the Kingdom include, Dr. Abdullah Basfar, Secretary-General, International Organization for Memorization of the Holy Qur'an in Jeddah, Dr. Saleh Ibn Hussain Al-A'ed, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Dr. Abdullah Al-Muslih, Secretary-General of the Commission of Scientific Signs in the Holy Qur'an and Sunnah. Prominent local speakers include Dr. M.A.M. Shukri, Director of the Jamiyah Naleemiyah, and Dr. Mohamed Mubarak Mufthi, principal of the Ghafooriyah Arabic College. A delegation from the Muslim World League (MWL) led by its Secretary General Dr. Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki had left the Kingdom for Colombo to participate in the international seminar organized by MWL and the Colombo-based Islamic Cultural Center (ICC). Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse patronized the three-day seminar. On this occasion, Chairman of ICC and Member of Parliament Dr. Mohammad Haneefa Mohammad highlighted the role played by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support peaceful co-existence among Muslims and non-Muslims all over the world, expressing his optimism that the seminar comes up with recommendations helpful to mankind. On his part, Dr. Al-Turki said that the seminar comes within the framework of implementing its program to spread the true image of Islam and its principles that urge for cooperation and dialogue among peoples. Dr. Al-Turki hailed the Sri Lanka's government cooperation with the MWL to spread peace among human societies. Sri Lankan President Mahindra Rajapakse received, Secretary General of the Muslim World League (MWL) DR Abdullah Ibn Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki, members of the League's delegation, Islamic Scholars and thinkers who are participating in an international symposium on "Justice, World peace and peaceful co-existence in a pluralistic Society." The three-day symposium was inaugurated in Colombo by the Sri Lankan President. Speaking on the occasion, President Rajapakse thanked the MWL for holding this conference in Sri Lanka. He affirmed that Sri Lanka support every effort which is directed towards serving justice and global peace. On his part, Dr Al-Turki reiterated the keenness of the MWL and its affiliates to promote dialogue with others as a channel of cooperation and understanding. He also stressed the importance of continuing the program of the MWL to forge the culture of peace and execute all activities pertaining to the promotion of dialogue related to the Eastern and Western civilizations. The International Conference on Peaceful Co-existence in Islam, which concluded in Colombo, expressed deep concern over the attacks and the malicious campaign being unleashed against Islam and Muslims in some of the Western countries. In a statement issued at the end of the conference, the participants urged the international community to strive for further promoting peaceful coexistence among people of various civilizations on the basis of justice and well-known principles that are agreed upon by the world community. The conference was organized by the Makkah-based Muslim World League, in cooperation with the Islamic Cultural Center of Colombo. Several prominent figures, Islamic scholars and thinkers, including Dr. Abdullah Al Turki, secretary general of MWL, addressed the conference. The conference noted that all the heavenly religions focused on the basic principle of justice for all people in the world. "Islam, the last divine religion, stresses this principle more vividly with regard to the contacts of Muslims with members of other communities. The international community as well as governments and organizations should work for establishing their relations on the basis of justice and human values and principles," it said while noting that the divine message that calls for justice and specifies rights and obligations of every human being cannot be ignored in this respect. The statement also highlighted the significance accorded by Islam to peaceful coexistence. The participants at the conference called on the international community to take advantage of the Islamic principles in realizing peaceful coexistence. "These principles included tolerance, mutual respect, lack of coercion in embracing religion, preventing aggression on others, besides stressing the need for fulfilling everyone's obligations." The conference also voiced deep concern over the ongoing campaign to escalate confrontation between the contemporary civilizations and Islam. It slammed the mounting wave of hate crime and vicious campaign against Islam and Muslims in some of the Western countries. Meanwhile, Dr. Abdullah Al Turki visited the Saudi embassy in Colombo and held talks with Saudi Charge d' Affaires in Sri Lanka Talat Ibn Hamzah Shirah. Shirah welcomed MWL's delegation participating in the Colombo international conference on "Peaceful co-existence in Islam." He noted that the choice of the topic for the conference was quite appropriate as it shows Islam's tolerance and sublime teachings |
|||||
