Saudi Gazette report

TODAY will mark the 3rd anniversary of the allegiance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, SPA reported.

The Kingdom has undergone great changes over the past few years under the reign of King Salman. It has catapulted to modernity with renewed infrastructure in all areas of the Kingdom to opening new industries aimed at diversifying the Kingdom’s economy.

The King was a prominent supporter of education in the Kingdom as he has sponsored and supported numerous local celebrations and achievements such as the opening ceremony of the 2nd International Conference on the History of King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz. The conference was organized by Imam Mohammad Bin Saud University in Riyadh and it showcased the university’s achievements as they have built new residence houses for faculty members, expanded students’ parking lots, installed latest technologies and other achievement that cost a total of SR3.2 billion.

King Salman also made sure that efforts in developing the infrastructure of all areas of the Kingdom are exerted. He attended the launching ceremony of the Development of Al-Bijairi District Project headed by Higher Commission for the Development of Riyadh.

His belief in internal modernity did not distract him from reaching out to neighboring countries and offering humanitarian support. He sponsored the launching ceremony of King Salman Relief and Humanitarian Outreach Center. The center is the headquarters of all the humanitarian missions headed by the Kingdom.

He also supported a number of medical advancements under the Ministry of National Guard such as King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital and King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and Central Laboratory.

He also went to Makkah to visit and pray at the Grand Mosque. He witnessed the washing of the Kaaba’s interior walls and then checked up on the third phase of the expansion of mataf project to ensure that everything is going smoothly.

He visited Madinah and stayed at his residence there where saw a presentation on the plans of the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque and the central area of Madinah. The King then sponsored the ceremony of the Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Award for Prophetic Hadith and Contemporary Islamic Studies and the Prince Naif Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Award for the Memorization of Prophetic Hadith. The ceremony was held by Madinah Governorate.

Before leaving Madinah, he attended the opening ceremony of Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport. The airport has the capacity for 8 million travelers in its first phase of construction. It will have the capacity for 18 million travelers in its second phase. By the third phase, it will have the capacity for over 40 million travelers.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has been the Kingdom’s driving force as he established strong relations with the United States, Russia, China, Japan, France, India and other countries. He worked relentlessly to strengthen the unity and solidarity of Saudi people.

Perhaps, the Kingdom’s hosting of three major summits — Saudi-US, US-GCC and US-Islamic — was its outstanding achievement this year. US President Donald Trump, leaders and representatives of 55 Arab and Muslim-dominated countries took part in the conferences held in Riyadh seeking unity in the fight against terrorism.

King Salman opened the summit, telling world leaders that Islam provided the best example for coexistence and “will always be the religion of mercy and coexistence.” He denounced extremists who distorted the true picture of Islam.

“We all, peoples and countries, reject in every language and in every form damaging the relations of Muslim countries with friendly countries and profiling countries based on a religious or sectarian basis,” the king told the summit leaders.

The US president’s speech in Riyadh had a new tone, which was quite different from his anti-Islam and anti-Muslim rhetoric during the election campaign.

During Trump’s visit Saudi Arabia and the US signed a series of agreements, including an arms deal worth almost $110 billion, described as the largest in US history. He also signed a memorandum of understanding with GCC on countering terror financing.

The successful management of this year’s Haj pilgrimage was another major achievement. More than 2.5 million Hajis took part in the event, the largest gathering of Muslims in the world. The Saudi government mobilized all its human and material resources to make the annual pilgrimage a resounding success without any major security incidents.

King Salman expressed his happiness over the successful Haj operation and thanked the Almighty for granting Saudi Arabia the honor of serving pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites. “Since Saudi Arabia’s foundation, its kings have exerted maximum efforts to serve pilgrims and visitors, and will continue to do so as this is a source of pride for the country and its citizens,” he said.

The establishment of the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE) was instrumental in bringing about a revolution in entertainment. It organized 26 special programs with the participation of international entertainment companies like Blue Man Group and Artists Gallery to celebrate Eid Al-Adha.

The programs covered 13 major Saudi cities as part of GAE’s move to entertain citizens and residents across the Kingdom.

The authority wanted to organize entertainment programs with high quality content, improve relations between citizens and families and enhance the quality of their lives. “We wanted to meet the expectations of citizens,” said a senior official, who requested anonymity, while talking about Eid programs.

He said the move to organize a variety of attractive entertainment programs in different parts of the Kingdom would not only boost the economy, but also create thousands of new jobs for young Saudi men and women and provide new investment opportunities. “It goes in line with the Vision 2030,” he added.

Saudi Arabia’s qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Japan in the group qualifiers was another landmark achievement. With this glittering victory, the Saudis finished second in Group B of the third round of Asian World Cup qualifying, booking their ticket to the soccer extravaganza in Russia next summer.

In addition, King Salman empowered women in various ways. Calling it a non-stop process undertaken by the nation’s leaders, King Salman opened up new vistas for working women for the King believes that building the country depends upon the use of Saudi national resources whether they are women or men. King Salman underscored that the country would not have realized all of these remarkable achievements without the farsighted vision, which supports the role of women in the development process.

The greatest achievement was when King Salman issued the decree to allow women to drive. “The royal decree will implement the provisions of traffic regulations, including the issuance of driving licenses for men and women alike,” the royal order said. The decree orders the formation of a ministerial body to give advice on the practicalities of the edict within 30 days and to ensure the full implementation of the order by June 2018. This announcement was welcomed by Saudis as major move.