39-SA Bulletin February 2010 Issue 39

www.saudiaustraliaonline.com February 2010 Issue 39 Vol 5

Full Story Page 2

Ambassador Nazer & PM Rudd AUSTRALIA DAY RECEPTION Page 4

Prince SaudAl Faisal&

Hillary ClintonJOINT PRESSCONFERENCE

Full Story Page 3

Saudi Embassy participates

National MulticulturalFESTIVAL Pages 6-7

UN: SAUDI ARABIA LEADSWORLD HUMANITARIAN DONOR Page 2


February 2010 Issue 39 Vol 5 www.saudiaustraliaonline.com

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In recognition of his role in the support of libraries, in-formation technology, cultural, intellectual and educa-tional activities and his calls for moderation and

tolerance, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques KingAbdullah bin Abdulaziz has been awarded the Arab Feder-ation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) prize.In a statement, Faisal bin Abdulrahman bin Moammar,General Supervisor for the Riyadh-based King AbdulazizPublic Library, said the award ceremony will be held on De-cember 10, in Casablanca, Morocco, on the sidelines of the20th conference for the Arab Federation for Libraries andInformation. Moammar praised the King’s establishment ofthe King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh, the King Ab-dulaziz Al Saud Foundation for Islamic Studies and Human-itarian Sciences in Morocco, and a branch of the KingAbdulaziz Public Library at the University of Beijing. Fur-thermore, he lauded the monarch’s creation of the King Ab-dulaziz International Prize for Translation, his support forthe King Abdulaziz Library’s Dialogue of Civilizations, thesponsoring of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Encyclopedia,and the promotion of the Arab Unified Archive.

Saudi Arabia has been emerging as an important

and growing force in aid for humanitarian activities

globally, according to a report released by the

United Nations .

Saudi Arabia has been ranked as “the largest inter-

national donor to humanitarian appeals” when

measured as a percentage of gross domestic prod-

uct (GDP). The Kingdom gave 0.19 per cent of the

value of its economy to humanitarian funding

abroad. This is large in comparison to the US, which

spent 0.02 per cent of its GDP on humanitarian aid

in 2008.

“The UN office in Riyadh commends the nation for

its solidarity with fellow countries, and stands ready

to continue this agenda through our cooperation

programmes and initiatives in the Kingdom and

abroad,” said Riyad Musa, the UN’s resident coor-

dinator in the kingdom.

He said that the rise of Saudi Arabia as the world’s

top humanitarian donor “is a great success and

shows the strong commitments of Custodian of the

Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to

achieving the UN’s Millennium Development Goals”.

The report said the kingdom not only led humani-

tarian donors as a percentage of GDP when com-

pared to the US, but also in comparison to the more

generous European countries, such as Sweden

(0.14 ent) and Norway (0.13 per cent).

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology

UN : SAUDI LEADS THE WAY IN

HUMINATARIAN DONATIONS


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Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisaland U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clintonheld a joint press conference following Secre-

tary Clinton’s meeting with the Custodian of the Two HolyMosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz at his ranch atRawdhat Khuraim on the outskirts of Riyadh.Prince Saud Al-Faisal said Secretary Clinton had a long in-depth, comprehensive and frank discussions with King Ab-dullah as is customary in their meetings. Prince Saud alsosaid that he also had discussions with the secretary thatcovered vital regional issues and the other international is-sues of interest to both countries.Prince Saud noted that the meeting occurred in the weekwhich marked the 65th anniversary of the historic meetingbetween passing King Abdulaziz, the founder of modernSaudi Arabia and President Franklin Roosevelt on Febru-ary 14, 1945. “e two leaders laid the foundation ofSaudi-U.S. relations which are based on mutual respect,the promotion of joint interests, and joint efforts to servethe United Nations pursuit for achieving internationalpeace and security,” the foreign minister said.ese principles, Prince Saud said, “have helped our twocountries to steadfastly confront all challenges and to takesignificant steps to consolidate bilateral relations and tomove toward a significant strategic stage, according to aninstitutional framework and through direct contacts be-tween concerned bodies in both countries and signing civil

agreements and memos of understanding in all fields ofscientific, economic, security, and military cooperation.” Among the most significant results of this cooperation isthe increase of Saudi students in the United States from3,000 students to about 25,000 during the last few years,an increase in the volume of trade and investment andtravel by Saudi and Americans officials and private citi-zens.“Together with the advent of businessmen, this has in-creased the burden of our consular missions who are re-quired to issue more and more visas and who sometimesface media campaigns calling for its expediting and facil-itating measures. In this connection, I raised the issue oftightening the travel measures against Saudi nationals. Inoticed that the U.S. Government has sympathetic un-derstanding of the Saudi viewpoint and the Saudi concernin this regard, and that the tightening of measures appliesto all travelers to the United States and emanates from ourkeenness to achieve a balance between security measuresand respect of civilian freedoms and basic rights.”On regional and international issue, Prince Saud said thepeace process received particular attention and expressedthe Kingdom’s appreciation to the U.S. Administrationfor its prompt movement “to resuscitate the peace processand to treat the major issue of conflict within the frame-work of the two-state solution” which aims at establishingan independent and viable Palestinian state.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal

and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton


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The Saudi Ambassador to Australia His Ex-cellency Mr Hassan Talaat Nazer. attendedthe Australia Day reception hosted by Aus-

tralian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at "e Lodge",Mr Rudd's official place of residence in Canberra. During the reception, the Ambassador conveyed toRudd the greetings of the Custodian of the Two HolyMosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, theCrown Prince, and the Second Deputy Premier,Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd with Ambassador Hassan Nazer

e ambassador also offered his best wishes for the PrimeMinister of constant good health, happiness, steadyprogress and prosperity as he provides for the Australianpeople on the renowned occasion of his country's Na-tional Day.On his part, the Australian Prime Minister sent his greet-ings to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, theroyal family and the Saudi people, expressing his satis-faction over the progress of the bilateral relations betweenthe two countries.


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Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Julia Gillard

has received Saudi Ambassador to Australia Hassan Tala't Nazer.

During the meeting, they discussed the Program of Custodian of the

Two Holy Mosques for Foreign Scholarships, the situation of Saudi

students on scholarships in Australia, and joint cultural, educational

and political relations between the two countries. Gillard

and Nazer expressed their satisfaction over the progress

and development of bilateral relations.

Ambassador Hassan Nazer with DeputyPrime Minister Ms Julia Gillard

e Australian Trade Minister the Hon. Simon Crean high-lighted the important and remarkable progress of the trade andinvestment between Australia and Saudi Arabia which hasbeen increased considerably in recent years.e Saudi Press Agency correspondent in Australia, conductedan exclusive interview with the Minister Simon Crean duringthe Foreign Correspondents' Association (FCA), NewsmakerLuncheon in Sydney on ursday 16 February.Minister Crean praised the diplomatic cooperation with theRoyal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Australia , stressing the on-going development of the relations between the two countries.He stressed the importance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia'spolitical and economic, leadership in the Gulf , Middle Eastand globally , stressing the role that the Saudi Arabia can beplayed in accelerating the FTA negotiations currently underway between Australia and the GCC.

Minister Crean expressed the Australian desireto strengthen the prospects of trade and invest-ment cooperation between the two countries“Australia’s interest to invest in the educationsector, which witnessed a clear growth in recentyears including the possibility of opening a newcampus of the Australian Universities in SaudiArabia “Minister Crean said.e Minister also expressed the Australia inter-est to strengthen and open the doors of invest-ment with Saudi Arabia in the sectors ofagriculture, livestock and mining .

Australian Trade Minister Hon. Simon Crean


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Ambassador of the Saudi Arabia to Aus-tralia Mr Hassan Talat Nazer has praisedthe activities and cultural events, held on

the 14th multi-cultural festival, in the Australiancapital Canberra, under the presence of perform-ers and visitors from across the nation and globewith participation of over 44 foreign countriesand 578 exhibitors from Australia and abroad. is year the Saudi Arabia Al Khaimah Exhibi-tion presented the Haramain, Holy CityMosques as well as photographs and paintings aspart of the heritage of the Kingdom and its mod-ern renaissance, they also distributed a largenumber of books, publications and press releasestelling the story of the Kingdom and the achieve-

ments in its development. e President and membersof the club of the Saudi students present in the capitalCanberra, wore the national dress in the tent of SaudiArabia as they provided coffee and dates, which had the attention of the public and the festivaltent made of Saudi Arabia. Also played inside the tentwas a documentary film in English depicting the fullprofiles of life in Saudi Arabia and its cultural devel-opment. e opening ceremony of the festival included a largespace for art including the traditional Saudi dance per-formed by students for the second time on the festivalstage as they mingled with the enthusiastic voices of the

The Royal

Minister of Multiculture in ACT, Ms Joy Burch

MLA with Saudi Students at the Festival


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Saudi Ambassador to Australia and New Zealand Hassan Ta-

laat Nazer has met with the new heads of Saudi Students

Clubs in Australia for the year 2010.

The ambassador has emphasized the importance of the ob-

jectives of the Program of Custodian of the Two Holy

Mosques for Foreign Scholarships, reviewing the role of the

embassy in cooperation with the clubs and its support for

their cultural, social and sports activities.

On the other hand, Saudi Cultural Attaché Dr. Ali bin Mo-

hammed Al-Bishri has met with the heads of the Saudi Stu-

dents Clubs in Australia and they discussed administrative

and financial aspects of the clubs.

surrounding scene as swords and drums and banners carried bythe unified Saudi students, chanting songs of joy and peace. e Ambassador His Excellency Hassan Nazer expressed hisgratitude and stressed the importance of participating in variouscultural events to bring the message of the Kingdom’s emergingvalues of civilization and modernity to all Australian people andthe friendly people of the world at large. e ambassador expressed his satisfaction of the successful SaudiCultural Exhebiton and all others, praising the great efforts inpreparing and arranging their participation in the festival. eAmbassador thanked the Saudi cultural attaché, and the membersof the Saudi Student Club in Canberra including students whoparticipated in the Multicultural Day festival, valuing their com-bined great efforts.For her part, Minister of multiculture in the Australian capital, Canberra, Ms Joy Burch MLA expressed her appreciationof the Saudi Arabia tent and also thanked the participation of allimportant actors in the festival.

Ambassador meets with Heads of Saudi

Student Clubs for 2010

Director of Embassy Information, Mr Rida Nuzha (above) Visitors trying on Traditional arab gowns (centre) ACT Senior

Constable Nick Keeling offered Saudi coffee at the “Al

Khaimah” Exhibition Tent (top left) Saudi Students performing

the Saudi traditional folklore Dance, Al Arda (top right)


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The Saudi Ambassador to Australia HisExcellency Mr. Hassan Nazer patron-ized the graduated first group of pilots

as part of the Saudi National Guard Training at the Sun-shine Coast Australian Academy, in Queensland. e grad-uation was held in the presence of the President of theRoyal Saudi Air Guard pilot board , Major General Rashidal-Zahrani, Brigadier General Shaddad Al Asmari, cul-ture attaché in Australia Dr. Ali Bishri and a number ofsenior officials of the academy.In a speech ceremony heldon the occasion, Ambassador Nazer conveyed the greetingsand congratulations of the Custodian of the Two HolyMosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, CrownPrince Sultan bin Abdulaziz and Second Deputy Premierand Minister of Interior, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, to allthe graduates.Ambassador Nazer expressed his pride to-

wards the graduation of the first Saudi pilot group in Australiaand wished all the graduated pilots success, urging them toapply what they have learned gratefully into their homeland.

Saudi Ambassasdor Hassan Nazer, Cultural Attache Dr. Ali Bishri, SaudiAir Gaurd Pilot Major General Rashid Al Zahrani and Brigader GeneralShaddad Al Asmari with Saudi graduated pilots at the Australian Academy

39-SA Bulletin February 2010 Issue 39

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