“The two friendly countries will celebrate together the 55th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations on this Oct.”
Saudi is a birthplace of Islam as well as a spiritual hub of 1.6 billion
Muslim population. For Koreans, Saudi Arabia remains as an image in
which Korean companies contributed to the SOC, that is social infrastructure
of Saudi in the 1970s & 1980s.
Such Saudi Arabia is changing with its vision ‘2010 Kingdom Vision’,
reducing its economic growth dependency on oil and diversifying in
terms of its economic partnerships into other areas such as ICT,
defense field etc. with the Republic of Korea, to name just a few.
Saudi Amb. Riyad A. Almubaraky spoke exceptionally in comparison past
usual customes with his National Day speech on the occasion of the 2017
National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that with Allah’s help, the Kingdom has reunified and restored security, touchingupon
such 2010 Kingdom Vision, diplomatic ties with the Republic of Korea
as well as Korean companies’ contribution to the deveopment of the country.
Chairman Shim Jae-kwon of the Diplomatic Cooperation Committee from the National
Assembly as well as Rep. Cho Kyung-tae who were invited as guest honors, also echoed with the opinion of
Saudi Amb. Almubaraky.
Despite of its luncheon reception which was held in a downtown hotel
Seoul at noon, on Sep. 20, Saudi reception was conspicuous in terms of
its participant scale including envoys from the Middle East & African region.
The following is a contribution article by H.E. Riyad A. Almubaraky, Saudi Amb.
To the Republic of Korea to the NDNnews & The Seoulcity Magazine. -Ed.
As we celebrate the 87th anniversary of the unification of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia, we recall and remember the efforts and sacrifices of the
Kingdom's founder His Majesty late King Abdul Aziz bin Abdulrahman Al
Saud to build such a great state, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, based on
the Holy Quran, adhering to the teachings of Prophet Mohammed —
May peace be upon him, with Allah's help, the Kingdom was reunified.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia stands proudly, side by side, with the
developed countries in every field. Under the great leadership of the
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, the
Kingdom witnesses a glorious era and a blessed renaissance with more
security and stability.
With a vision to secure the brighter and more prosperous future, the
Kingdom's "Vision 2030" was announced which has national, developmental
and future plans approved by His Majesty the King.
The vision represents a new phase of development and hard work for a
better future, with the aim to keep up with the developed countries, to
achieve a comprehensive development, to employ the Kingdom's
potentials and its energy, by taking advantage of the Kingdom's strategic
location, while adhering to the genuine faith of Islam and preserving the
genuineness of our society and its principles.
Taking this opportunity, I would like to praise the strategic, friendship,
and cooperative relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the
Republic of Korea. The two friendly countries established diplomatic ties
on Oct. 16, 1962. Through a long history, the two countries witnessed
various forms of friendship and cooperation in many fields, including
politics, economy, education, and culture. The Republic of Korea
managed to secure a safe source of crude oil, while the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia was able to obtain high-quality and efficient infrastructure when the Korean firms began to
enter the Saudi markets in 1973.
The Korean companies have participated significantly in modernizing
the Saudi basic infrastructure in the 1970s and 1980s.
In terms of the volume of contracts, the share of the Korean companies in
Saudi Arabia has reached 23 percent, which in turn assures that Korea is
the first partner to Saudi Arabia in the fields of construction and reconstruction.
The cooperation between the two friendly countries, however, was not
limited only to the fields of oil and construction, but extended to many
other fields. Given the accumulative trust built by the Korean companies
in Saudi Arabia since the last century, these firms managed, recently, in
securing huge project contracts in Saudi Arabia such as plants for
petroleum, petrochemicals, power generation and water desalination.
The two countries are seeking to expand cooperation in the fields of
shipbuilding, automobiles, military industries, and renewable energy.
The bilateral relationship between the two friendly countries is
considered as the model of relations among other nations as the two
countries witnessed continuous development and mutual coordination
in many international issues, such as combating piracy and terrorism,
climate change, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons,
and providing mutual support for the positions and candidacies of the
two countries in international bodies and organizations. The two
countries particularly pay attention to enhance the strategic relations
and to increase cooperation in various fields.
The Kingdom is the first supplier of crude oil to Korea, its fourth-largest trading partner and the largest market for the Korean products in
the Middle East.
In 2012, the two countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of their
distinguished historic friendship.
On the same year, the Republic of Korea was a guest of honor at the
Janadriyah Cultural Festival. This October, the two friendly countries will
celebrate together the 55th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations.
The next era will witness an increase in the level of cooperation and
rapprochement as the Republic of Korea is selected as among the
strategic cooperation countries within the framework of the
implementation of the Kingdom's "Vision 2030" that aims to reduce
Saudi's dependence on oil and to make development in other fields.
I sincerely wish the two countries and the two friendly peoples continued
prosperity, security and stability.