September 14, 2007

THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES RECEIVES THE AUDITING BUREAU REPORT AND TWO MESSAGES FROM THE KING OF MOROCCO AND THE EMIR OF KUWAIT. PRINCE ABDUL RAHMAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ PATRONIZES THE GRADUATION CEREMONY OF DHAHRAN-BASED INSTITUTE OF THE TECHNICAL STUDIES AT THE AIR FORCES. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at the Royal court at Al-Yamamah palace the President of General Auditing Bureau Osama Bin Jaafar Faqih and a number of bureau's officials. During the audience, Faqih handed over to the king a copy of the bureau's annual report for fiscal year 1425/1426 H. In a key address, Faqih said he was delighted to hand over the report to the King, noting that the bureau has proceeded with its plan aiming at enhancing its role in implementing the concept of comprehensive auditing over all government bodies and semi-governmental companies. He said his department is teaching other government bodies not only to check financial and accounting errors or violations but also find ways to solve them and update their systems to prevent repetition of such mishaps. He said he attached to the report a number of recommendations to the monarch to take the appropriate decisions on them. The audience was attended by Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijri, advisor to the King. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz received a message from Morocco's King Mohammed VI. The message was handed over to the king by Morocco's Ambassador to the Kingdom Abdul Kareem Al-Sammar during an audience with the king at the royal court at Al-Yamamah palace. During the audience, the Ambassador conveyed to King Abdullah the greetings of the Moroccan King. In turn, King Abdullah sent his greetings to King Mohammed VI. The Audience was attended by Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijri, advisor to the King. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz received a message from Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The message was handed over to the king by Mohammed Dhaifullah Sharar, advisor at Kuwait's emir court during the King's audience with him and the accompanying delegation at the royal court at Al-Yamamah palace. During the audience, the Kuwaiti advisor conveyed to King Abdullah the greetings of the Kuwaiti Emir and Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. In turn, King Abdullah sent his greetings to them. The audience was attended by Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Khuwaiter, Minister of State and Cabinet Member and Abdul Mohsen Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwaijri, advisor to the King. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to the President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez Reyna on the anniversary of his country's national day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the King wished the President permanent good health and happiness and his friendly people steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to the President of the Dominican Republic Leonel Fernandez Reyna on the anniversary of his country's national day. The Crown Prince wished him permanent good health and happiness and his friendly people steady progress and prosperity. On the other hand Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, arrived in the Saudi Eastern region city of Dhahran. At King Abdul Aziz Air Base, he was received by Prince Mashari Bin Saud Bin Abdul Aziz, Under Secretary of the National Guard for the Wastern sector; Prince Juluwe Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Musaed, Deputy Governor of the Eastern Region; and a number of princes and senior officials. He was accompanied by a number of princes. Prince Abdul Rahman left Riyadh air base earlier. He was seen off by General Salih Bin Ali Al Mohayyah, Chief of General Staff, and senior military officials. Prince Abdul Rahman Bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General, returned to Riyadh from the Eastern region. In the Eastern region, Prince Abdul Rahman patronized the graduation ceremony of Dhahran-based institute of the technical studies at the air forces. He was welcomed by Lt. General Abdul Rahman Al-Faisal, the Commander of the Air forces, and a number of officers of the armed forces. In Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh region, received the Director of the Social Protection Fund in Azerbaijan and member of the Cabinet Dr Salim Muslimov and the accompanying delegation. In Riyadh, Prince Mansour Bin Miteb bin Abdul Aziz Deputy Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs opened a workshop entitled (1428 H Pilgrimage planning. Security, God Willing), organized by the Central Administration of the Projects developments at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs at between the period from 7 to 9 1428H 25 to 27 February 2007. The workshop dealt with the projects and developments installed and the course of being established to provide utmost security to the pilgrims. Also in Riyadh Prince Abdul Aziz bin Dr. M. Hamad bin Ayaf Secretary of the Riyadh region, opened the sixth meeting of heads of municipalities and rural cooperatives, in Riyadh, organized by the Secretariat of the Riyadh region, for municipalities. With the support of Allah, the All-Mighty, Riyadh has attained a distinguished position among the world's capitals. During the past two decades, Riyadh city had witnessed great leaps in all aspects of life, the matter that places it at the front of the advanced cities. Riyadh city as a contemporary city, is enjoying many requisites and characteristics that classified it as one of the remarkable capitals due to the geographical location, strong political, administrative and financial status as a capital of the country. It is also accommodating the public utilities, general services, highly advanced communication systems and strong productive economy in all commercial, industrial and service fields. On the other hand on behalf of Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh region, opened by the Minister of State for Higher Education, Dr Motlab Al Nafissa opened the 5th administrative forum organized by the Saudi Society for administration at the King Faisal Hall at the Intercontinental. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs, received the head of the American Military Training Mission Major General Hernandez. They reviewed issues of mutual interest. Prince Khalid Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation for Military Affairs, also received retired US Navy General Joseph Ben Hur and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting they discussed issues of mutual interests. Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi stated that fighting unemployment in the Kingdom was a joint responsibility. "It is wrong to assume that it's the sole responsibility of the Labor Ministry. The whole society with all its institutions must come together to tackle this national issue," he said. The minister expressed hope that the next national dialogue forum, which is going to address unemployment and labor market issues, would be able to find a radical solution to the complex problem. The official unemployment rate among Saudi men is put at nine percent and among women at 22 percent. "I would like to thank Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for approving a proposal made by the ministry to make labor and employment the topic of the next national dialogue," the Saudi Press Agency quoted Gosaibi as saying. "Unemployment is a complex issue that has no easy solution," Gosaibi said. "We have to find out the reasons and solve them in a scientific manner. Previous solutions were individual views that lacked scientific and methodical thinking," he added. The minister said insufficient training was a key factor in unemployment in the Kingdom, as well as the tendency of some companies to skirt their Saudi quotas. The King Abdul Aziz National Dialogue Center announced last week that the next dialogue would focus on the theme of "Job Opportunities and Employment: A Dialogue between the Community and Labor Institutions." The topic was chosen considering its importance as unemployment is a major issue now in Saudi Arabia, said Faisal ibn Muammar, secretary-general of the center. He said officials from both public and private sectors would take part in the dialogue. The Labor Minister said the subject must be tackled, considering all aspects including Saudi education standard, needs of the job market, negligence of some businessmen toward Saudization, lack of training, dearth of job discipline and ethics and the big gap between benefits provided by the private and public sectors. The Kingdom in recent years asked companies to reserve a percentage of jobs for Saudi citizens in certain categories. King Abdullah set up the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue in August 2003, when he was crown prince, as part of political and social reforms that he spearheaded. The center aims at promoting a culture of dialogue among Saudi intellectuals and youth. The center has so far conducted six forums focusing on different topics. The last forum, which was held in the northern city of Sakaka in November 2006, addressed educational reforms. On another development Saudi Arabia and Pakistan agreed to extend cooperation in various fields. In pursuance of the Agreement on the establishment of the Joint Ministerial Commission between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1974 for economic cooperation in different fields, the 8th Session of the Joint Ministerial Commission was held in Riyadh from 20-21 February 2007. Dr. Hashim A Yamani, Minister of Commerce and Industry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia led the Saudi delegation and Mr. Humayun Akhtar Khan, Minister of Commerce of Pakistan, led Pakistan delegation. Both the leaders acknowledged that the Joint Ministerial Commission is an effective instrument to explore more opportunities in the interest of bilateral cooperation and expressed their sincere hope for its first meeting to become a big milestone in the development of economic, scientific, technical and cultural relations between the two Muslim states based on the principles of mutual respect, equality and reciprocal advantages. It was noted that there exists tremendous scope for exploring full potential of both the economies. The two sides came up with certain recommendations. The Pakistan side offered export of ready-made garments, cotton products, engineering goods, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, rice, textile fabrics, sports goods, and surgical instruments. The Pakistan side sought Saudi Government's support to accelerate the process of Pak-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) negotiations paving way for early finalization of Pak-GCC negotiations on FTA. In order to further promote the bilateral trade, both sides agreed to arrange road shows and exhibitions to showcase the products of both countries. The Pakistan side requested the Saudi Government to relax and rationalize their Standard Requirements and duties on export from Pakistan and allow Pakistan private investment in the free re-export zone of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi delegation took note of the proposal. The Pakistan side offered free of cost training facilities for the Saudi doctors and nurses in the field of therapeutic and diagnostic services, neurosurgery and cardiovascular surgery. The Saudi side noted the offer. Both sides agreed for academic linkage between Quaid-e-Azam University and National Institute of Science & Technical Education, Islamabad, with similar institutions of Saudi Arabia and exchange visits of academicians, scholars & teachers. Pakistan side requested the Saudi delegation to expedite their response on the proposal of Pakistan to accredit all the Medical Colleges of Pakistan so that the existing quota for Saudi students could be enhanced from 30 to 50 seats. Pakistan side also offered training facilities to Saudi Railways personnel in various disciplines of railways and asked the Saudi side to identify the fields of their interest. The Pakistan side highlighted the potential of Pakistan industrial sector in manufacturing Sugar plants, Cement plants, Fertilizer Plants, Refineries and Construction material and offered its expertise to Saudi Government. The Saudi took note of the offer. Pakistan side handed over the list of goods and services, which can be exported by Pakistan State Engineering Corporation. The Pakistan side also seeks Saudi investment in Export Processing Zones of Pakistan for the establishment of export-oriented industries where raw material could be imported from any source of world without any custom duty. The Saudi side showed deep interest for investment in the EPZs of Pakistan. The Pakistan delegation requested for Saudi investment in the large breeding farms, milk collection and diary processing units, vaccine production and joint ventures in cattle feed mills, Meat production and processing, poultry production and processing units. Pakistan side will provide draft MOU to Saudi side for enhancing export of meat and vegetables to Saudi Arabia. Both sides discussed in detail different issues relating to the cooperation in the religious realm. The Pakistan side pointed out problems being faced by the Umrah and Hajj pilgrims and requested for their resolution. Both sides also discussed the Draft agreement for cooperation between Council of Islamic Ideology and International Islamic Fiqh Academy of Saudi Arabia and agreed to finalize it shortly. The Pakistan side requested the Saudi side to propose their members on the Joint Committee on Science and Technological Cooperation. The Saudi delegation assured early ratification of the Agreement on Scientific Cooperation and nomination of its members on the Joint Committee. The Pakistani side requested the Saudi delegation for preferential treatment of Pakistani labor seeking employment in the Kingdom and grant of pardon to all such Pakistani prisoners who are detained in Saudi Jails for minor crimes having the punishment of less than two years. Both sides agreed to exchange tourism information/statistics, publications, publicity material, development and marketing plans for mutual benefit for further promotion of cooperation between the two countries in the cultural and tourism spheres. The Pakistan side also sought Saudi investment in the tourism sector of Pakistan. Both sides agreed to hold the 9th session of the JMC in Islamabad in 2008 on mutually agreed dates to be finalized through diplomatic channels. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has received a merit certificate from the World Health Organization (WHO) because it has become free from polio. The spokesman for the Health Ministry Dr Khalid Marghalani has attributed this great achievement to the grace of Almighty Allah and the generous support extended to the health sector by the Saudi government. Thanks to Almighty Allah, since 1995 no cases of polio were reported in the kingdom', he said. Meanwhile the Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Ali Mohammed Al-Sha'wour, held a press conference to discuss the preparations to establish the activities of Yemeni universities in Saudi Arabia. Al-Sha'wour assured that the participation will be a qualitative one and four government universities together with eight private universities will participate along with about 140 professors taking part. According to Al-Sha'wour, the scientific, artistic and medical participation aims to deepen the bilateral relations between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. The participation will involve four different aspects. The first part will be seminars and symposiums on different fields. Further, two medical teams from Sana'a University will execute many surgical operations, cosmetic surgery and operations on urinary tracts. The second part relates to students activities including poetry, literature, drama and other folkloric exhibitions. Further, the program will include exhibiting artistic works especially from Hodeidah University. There will be also a book fair for Yemeni universities' publications. On another development, three French expatriates in the Kingdom were killed and another man was injured yesterday in a drive-by shooting northwest of the Kingdom by unidentified gunmen, an Interior Ministry spokesman said. Spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki said some members of the French group, who came from Riyadh and who were taking a rest on the side of a road, were planning to head toward the holy city of Makkah to perform Umrah. "A group of French residents including four men, three women and two children came under fire from an unidentified car while on their way back from a trip and as they stopped in a desert area for rest," the Saudi Press Agency quoted Turki as saying. French President Jacques Chirac expressed shock over the attack and described it as "hateful." Chirac thanked Saudi authorities for helping the victims and underscored "the importance of shedding full light on this tragedy to ensure that the perpetrators are arrested, brought to justice and punished and to ensure the security of our compatriots." French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy also condemned the attack as a "horrible act" and vowed to find those responsible. "French authorities have mobilized alongside Saudi authorities so that full light is shed on the incident and that the perpetrators are arrested and punished," said Douste-Blazy in a statement. Douste-Blazy said the French ambassador to Saudi Arabia and consul general in Jeddah plan to visit the site of the attack and talk with Saudi authorities. He said one of the men killed was a teacher at a high school and the other two worked for a private French company, which sources identified as Schneider Electric. Al-Turki said the attack took place while the group was taking rest in a desert area located about 17 km away from the Madinah-Tabuk Highway. He said Saudi security authorities have launched an investigation into the incident. He did not say whether the shooting is being viewed as a hate-crime or act of terrorism by extremists targeting foreigners. A French diplomat, who requested anonymity, earlier said four men died in the incident, adding that two others wounded in the shooting were in "serious condition." But Al-Turki said: "It appeared that two men were killed on the spot. Two others were wounded (but) one of them died in hospital. The other man is receiving necessary treatment and we have made arrangements for the transportation and accommodation of the women and children." According to French Foreign Ministry sources, the person injured is a 17-year-old boy. The attack is the first to target Western expatriates since a Briton was wounded in a knife attack in November in the eastern industrial city of Jubail. Westerners were repeatedly targeted after suspected Al-Qaeda militants launched a string of shootings and bombings in May 2003. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz made today a telephone call to French President Jacques Chirac. During the call, the Monarch expressed his and the Saudi people's condolences and sympathy for the President, French people and families of the victims of the criminal act which resulted in killing a group of French residents during their return from a desert trip on Madinah-Tabuk highway in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. King Abdullah asserted that perpetrators who committed this terrorist act against innocent people represent themselves and will not escape justice, emphasizing that the Kingdom will remain a place of comfort and security. Worshippers in the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah performed funeral prayers for the two French men who died following the attack on them yesterday along the Madinah-Tabuk road. They were part of a group of expatriates of French nationality returning from a countryside journey and heading for Makkah to perform Umrah (minor pilgrimage). The Under Secretary of the General President of the Affairs of the prophet's mosque dr. Ali bin solaiman Al Obaid deplored the criminal act which claimed the lives of four French expatiates. In A Statement To Saudi press agency, he strongly denounced the crime citing Islamic tradition, values and teachings which prohibit perpetration of such crimes. The General Secretariat of the Muslim World League (MWL) described the assault incident on a French family in Saudi Arabia as a heinous crime. MWL Secretary General Dr. Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Turki said in a statement that the cruelty of the perpetrators of this incident was apparent in that they did not take into account the sanctity of Muslim blood. He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a place of security and safety, commending the efforts made by security authorities in the Kingdom to maintain security and protect people from aggression. "The security authorities have proven high efficiency in tracing criminals, protecting people and maintaining security", he added. He also urged citizens and residents in the Kingdom to cooperate with the security authorities to eradicate all kinds of crime.