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November 17, 2006 |
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UNDER THE PATRONAGE OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES AND ON BEHALF OF THE CROWN PRINCE, PRINCE NAIF LAUNCHES THE EVENT. PRINCE NAÏF BIN ABDUL AZIZ: SECURITY MEASURES IN OIL REGIONS ARE NOT UNPRECEDENTED, THEY ARE ALWAYS UPGRADED AND ARE FULLY PREPARED TO CONFRONT ANY INCIDENT. ON BEHALF OF THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES PRINCE SALMAN BIN ABDUL AZIZ, INAUGURATES THE FORUM OF GLOBAL CONTEST. SAUDI ARABIA INTENSIFIES ITS EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT FOR REGIONAL AND FOREIGN INVESTMENTS. THE SIGNING OF A NUMBER OF COOPERATION AGREEMENTS BETWEEN A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS AND BILL GATES. On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Interior Minister Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz inaugurated the first international conference and exhibition of handicrafts and tourism products from Islamic countries in Riyadh. In his opening speech, Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz pledged the government's support for developing and reorganizing tourism and handicraft sector and called on Islamic nations to exert concerted efforts in that direction. "The Islamic countries have been rich in culture and craftsmanship, which with the added encouragement from their governments can be developed into a profitable economic venture," Prince Naif said. He also took a tour of the exhibition. Some 500 tourism experts and artisans from around 40 member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) attended the high-profile inaugural ceremony at the sprawling King Abdul Aziz Historical Center. Dignitaries included several princes and senior officials including Prince Sultan Ibn Salman, secretary-general of the Supreme Commission for Tourism, OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Dr. Halit Eren, director general of the Istanbul-based OIC Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA). Speaking on the occasion, Prince Sultan Ibn Salman said the weeklong conference and exhibition, jointly organized by the SCT and IRCICA, marks the launching of a major initiative by Saudi Arabia to promote tourism and handicraft sector into a profitable industry. "The event was envisaged with the aim of focusing on the economic aspect of the handicraft industries," said the prince, referring to the exhibition organized on the sidelines of the conference. "The event also seeks to define the links between handicrafts and tourism," he said. The Kingdom, with the support of the government, will have an organized handicraft sector within the next five years, he added. The aim of the event was to raise awareness on the importance of handicrafts in tourism development in Islamic countries. The conference will discuss a range of subjects in 13 different sessions over the next six days. Major topics include handicrafts and associated values in coping with the globalization culture and advanced technology, role of the media in community awareness about crafts and tourism, the restoration and preservation of architectural heritage, and investment and marketing opportunities in tourism and handicraft. The exhibition, which is open for general public, is featuring more than 3,000 handicrafts of different OIC countries. The event will be wrapped up in a closing ceremony on Nov. 13 with the announcement of prizes for outstanding handicrafts. Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of Interior, said that the security measures taken to protect oil areas are not unprecedented but always being developed to become on complete alert and face whatever arising incident. In a statement following the opening ceremony of the week-long first International Conference For Tourism And Handicrafts In The Islamic Countries held in Riyadh, Prince Naif paid tribute to the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz of the conference, calling it a customary activity of the king to patronize important events. Interior Minister Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz said that security forces deployed in the Kingdom's oil regions were ready to face any situation. "Security measures in oil regions are not something new. But they are always upgraded and are fully prepared to confront any incident," the Saudi Press Agency quoted Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz as saying. Prince Naif made this statement while speaking to reporters after opening an international conference on tourism. Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference delivered on Tuesday 7 November, 2006 a statement at the inauguration of the 1st International Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts in Islamic States, organized by the Supreme Commission For Tourism in collaboration with the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) , under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. At the out set of his statement, the OIC Secretary General commended the high patronage accorded by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to this conference. He availed himself of this opportunity to express his thanks to the Supreme Commission for Tourism of the excellent organization of the conference. He indicated that this reflects the Kingdom's keenness to strengthen the bonds of Islamic solidarity among OIC Member States. The Secretary General also underlined the important role played by IRCICA, one of the most important active organs of the OIC in the field of Islamic culture and civilizational heritage. The Secretary General hailed the future trends addressed by the conference for the development of tourism and handicrafts. At the same time, he underscored the Organization's interest in these two sectors which would ensure investment opportunities that create jobs. They also provide hard currency and introduce the cultural heritage of the Islamic world. Professor Ihsanoglu drew attention to the danger facing the handcrafts as they may be relegated from their origins as a result of the effects of the arts coming from alien cultures, and because of the tremendous industrial and technological advancement witnessed by the world today. Concluding his statement, the Secretary General expressed his confidence that the conference participants would develop a global framework for the development of the tourism sector and handcrafts paving the way for energizing advancement efforts in Islamic states and the good acquaintance with the components of the Islamic civilizational heritage. The participants of the International conference on tourism and handcrafts in the Muslim world have called for the formation of a council for handcrafts in the Muslim world. The statement issued called also for holding periodical meetings for the council for discussion of issues pertaining to the development of handcrafts in Muslim world. From a Turkish ceramic artist elegantly painting to a Saudi woman mixing her own incense balls, the mud house village offers visitors a glimpse into Saudi and Islamic heritage. Riyadh locals and residents had a one week chance to explore Islamic craftsmanship from around the Islamic world at the Exhibition of Handicrafts and Traditional Industries Masterpieces in the Islamic World. The exhibition was inaugurated along with the first International Conference on Tourism and Handicrafts Tuesday night by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Interior Minister who cut the exhibition ribbon. Prince Naif highlighted that the Royal gesture of hosting the first international conference on tourism and handicrafts in Riyadh was aimed at encouraging the preservation of Islamic Culture and Heritage, and supporting the industry, thereby allowing it to boom into a source of income for local communities in the Kingdom and Islamic world in general. Algeria, Morocco, Kuwait, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan. Japan. South Africa, Qatar, Jordan, Turkey and many other countries are participating in the display of their most prominent collections and masterpieces in the field of handicrafts. The exhibition organized by the Supreme Commission for Tourism is located at King Abdul Aziz Historical Center near the National Museum. On the other hand on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region inaugurated the Forum of global contest organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) along with Microsoft Company. On arrival at the venue of the Forum, Prince Salman was greeted by Prince Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the King's advisor and the SAGIA Governor Amr bin Abdullah Al-Dabbagh. On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, delivered the king's speech on the occasion. The king's speech underlined Saudi efforts to enhance the climate for local and foreign investment in the country explaining steps taken in this field. The king stressed Saudi Arabia's support for private investment and its efforts to attract investment. SAGIA Governor delivered a speech on the occasion highlighting efforts to make Saudi Arabia one of the best ten countries in the world in the investment environment competitiveness by the end of 2010. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Microsoft Company Bill Gates made a presentation on his company and held a dialogue with the audience. The event was attended by a number of princes, ministers and officials. Microsoft founder Bill Gates concluded 14 separate development agreements with Saudi universities, businesses and ministries yesterday during a whirlwind visit to Riyadh. Speaking at the First Global Competitiveness Forum, Gates urged the Kingdom and its people to make a solid commitment to educational excellence and encouraged partnerships to develop energy-sector software to leverage the country's expertise in oil and gas production. He said the people of Saudi Arabia already had a partner in Microsoft. "The agreements we signed today will help public- and private-sector organizations in Saudi Arabia to empower people to reach their full potential," Gates told business leaders, academicians and government officials gathered at the forum. "As a leading IT company, at Microsoft we are committed to using our resources to help the citizens of Saudi Arabia and people around the world benefit from technology and thrive in the knowledge economy." The forum was organized by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) and Microsoft Arabia at the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz. Its focus was to bring information-technology-sector leaders together in an effort to advance the Kingdom's goal of transforming the nation into one of the world's 10 most attractive investment destinations by the year 2010. In his opening speech to the forum read out by Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz emphasized Saudi Arabia's resolve to improve the country's investment climate within the framework of a comprehensive economic reform program. "We have launched a comprehensive program to solve the problems facing investors in cooperation with all relevant government departments," the king said. King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz said the Kingdom was pleased to host the first global competitiveness forum as an affirmation of providing a suitable atmosphere to increase investments. "We are happy to see the participation of world personalities including intellectuals and business leaders to exchange views and make practical proposals with Saudi officials and businessmen," the king said. King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz said the forum was organized in support of SAGIA's 10x10 national program. "This of course demands a lot of efforts in order to improve performance, increase productivity and enhance the Kingdom's competitiveness," the king said. In his keynote address, Gates said the road to a prosperous future was the information superhighway, which would enable international business and education partnerships that would otherwise be impossible. "The digital approach is also making it a worldwide marketplace," Gates said. "That is a good thing. It means that when you partner with other companies, they don't need to be companies in the same location. We are seeing, for example, companies in China with great manufacturing expertise; we have companies in the United States that have various types of medical or software expertise. Many of these great products will involve companies from different countries working together. For a company like Microsoft, it means partnering throughout the world to form new companies. For example, companies in Saudi Arabia can take a lead in the energy area and come up with software solutions for that as well as other strategic areas. It is very important for us to reach out to them to share the information and to make sure that they have the latest software to do the work. So the advancement will come from many countries." Most important to enable the Kingdom to compete in the global marketplace was a massive commitment to improve education, he said. "The governments have a central role to play. The most important priority of all should be investing in education and to have several world-class universities. These are the things where only the government can show leadership," Gates said. Speaking of his own country, the Microsoft chairman said that the keystone of the US economy was the country's educational system. "The United States often ranks very high on the competitive tables, which you can say is very surprising because we are the most expensive economy in the world, our legal costs, defense costs and medical costs are highest in the world. The reason we do well is because our universities are among the best in the world," Gates said. "Most people say 15 of the Top 20 universities are in the United States. We are also very lucky in that smart people from around the world often want to come to the United States, so we get not only the best domestic skills but a lot of top people from around the world." Gates said that for Saudi Arabia to succeed, a number of factors would have to be considered. "What does Saudi Arabia have to do to move up? I think they have to take a lesson from a number of places," Gates said. "You've got to look at the US universities. You've got to look at their incentive systems where people who create intellectual property in the United States know that they can start a company, that their innovation will get that kind of protection." He lamented the difficulties people of many nationalities were experiencing when trying to visit and work in the United States. "I am actually quite critical of the US government for not making it easier for people to come in," Gates said. "Immigration policies make it kind of slow and unattractive to come to the United States, so that is a big hindrance." Looking into the future, Gates said: "For interaction today, we primarily use the keyboard. In the future we will be using all sorts of means for interacting with the computer. We will be using speech, we will be using ink. And then, we are talking about eliminating textbooks or books altogether because we will have a very light thin screen, a tablet-like computer that you can carry with you and which would be connected to the Internet." An interesting revolution is under way, he said. "Ten years ago when we thought about photographs, we thought about taking a camera, developing a film And when we thought about organizing and sharing our photo collection, that required working on paper that was very inefficient. Well, today, if you take a photo you can put it on the Internet and have it published in a very rich automatic way and in seconds. You can review your catalog in a very rich way. Isn't that amazing?" Gates recalled a story to underline the speed with which changes are taking place in the digital music world. "I had my children with me recently and we were walking in a shopping area and there was a record store and my son asked me: 'What is a record?' Well, he has never seen a record. If I take him to a museum, he will see one. He knows what a TV is, but 10 years from now even TV will be something people will look back on and say: 'Well, how inconvenient that was.' You can't carry it with you wherever you want and you can't organize it the way you would like." Among the 14 agreements signed yesterday were pacts with King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM), Saudi Post, Supreme Commission for Tourism, Saudi Telecom Company, General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training (GOTEVOT), the King Faisal Foundation and the Intelligence Department. Organizers said the forum's IT focus reflected the sector's importance to economic development. "Information and communications technology was chosen as the theme of the forum because of its vibrant impact on the economic productivity and competitiveness," said SAGIA Governor Amr Dabbagh. "It has a wide market that has big potential for developing a knowledge-based economy in Saudi Arabia." The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz received at his farm at Al Janadriya on the northern outskirts of riyadh the executive president of Microsoft Bill Gates and accompanying delegation. The guests had dinner with the monarch. The audience and the dinner were attended by Prince Badr Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Commander of the National Guard; Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Rahman; Prince Miqren Bin Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Faisal Bin Abdullah Bin Mohammed Al-Saud, Assistant Chief of General Intelligence; Prince General Mite'b Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard For Military Affairs; other princes, Governor the General Commission for Investment Amro Al-Dabbagh and a number of senior officials. Prince Miqren Bin Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence, and Bill Gates, Executive President Microsoft, co-signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the General Intelligence Presidency and Microsoft company to develop and use advance technology in administrative affairs. Later, Amro Al-Dabbagh, Governor of the General Commission For Investment, signed a cooperation agreement between the commission and Microsoft to study a number of investment opportunities in the kingdom. Gates signed for his company. Governor of the General Organization for technical education and vocational training Dr. Ali bin Nasir Al-Ghufais signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chairman of the Board of Directors of Microsoft Company Bill Gates to enhance the strategic partnership in the field of computer techniques. The MoU will have a positive role in qualifying national cadres for the labor market in the field of information technology, Al-Ghufais said. On his part, Bill Gates said he was impressed by the development in the field of vocational training in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He commended the way the Organization is proceeding ahead to build its training programs to serve the needs of the labor market in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia which is also progressing ahead. Bill Gates expressed the keenness of Microsoft Company to cooperate with the Organization in order to achieve what it has desired in terms of carrying out the training programs under the approved global modern methods in the Kingdom. During his visit to the Kingdom, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates signed an agreement with Saudi Post President & CEO Dr. Muhammed Saleh Benten to launch a long-term strategic relationship. The goal of the agreement is to integrate traditional mail with state-of-the-art electronic services, providing citizens and organizations with integrated and unified postal and electronic mail solutions. Saudi Post believes that this initiative promises an unprecedented and unique offering in the world of postal services. Saudi Post Vice President and CIO Dr. Usamah M. Altaf explained that the initiative is a two-pronged approach. The first part of the initiative involves building a complete business-to-consumer and e-marketplace that enables subscribers from varying backgrounds and with diverse interests to interact with Saudi Post electronically; conducting a wide set of transactions easily and efficiently. The second portion of the initiative involves bolstering the portal with a scalable state-of-the-art e-mail solution that provides every subscriber with his own personalized e-mail account that is tightly integrated into the various e-services provided through the portal. Through the personal account, the user will be able to subscribe and interact with many Saudi Post services such as WASEL e-services, Express Mail Services (EMS), Parcel Services, Normal Mailbox Renewal Services, Print-on-Demand E-Letters, E-Telegrams and E-Postcards. The system establishes a framework that provides the flexibility and ease needed for building and expanding for future services. In addition, Saudi Post will be offering a unique opportunity to companies and establishments to publish their catalogs to the Saudi Post e-marketplace, advertise their services and allow individuals and other organizations to interact and transact. This will establish a first-of-its-kind e-marketplace in the Kingdom. The e-marketplace solution will cater for automated supply-chain infrastructure to directly connect those businesses' online presence with their back-end systems; hiding all intricate details of payment and shipment reconciliation from visitors and yet allowing tracking and reporting on transactions. All the basic services of the portal will be extended through a host of other information services. For example, the system will provide visitors to the Saudi Post portal with a complete contact directory of companies and government agencies. There will also be a Branch Locator System and a Postal Code Locator System to enable easier use of other Saudi Post services. Saudi Post will be targeting new revenue streams through their portal with Direct Mail Campaigns and Content Targeting. Site administrators will be able to run mail campaigns that address subscribers with matching profiles. Dr. Altaf stated that this would allow the right information to reach the right audience and provide for a effective communication channel. The system will also collect feedback and reports on the success of the campaigns. The Saudi Post portal, its individual e-mail accounts and other functions will be accessible over the Internet on any device be it a PC or mobile handset. The new applications will be set up to intelligently recognize the access device and then provide a matching interface and information form factor to best fit the device being utilized to retrieve the required information. |
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