Donation for intl development remarkable
The following article was contributed by Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Korea Ahmad Y. Al Barra on the occasion of the National Day of Saudi Arabia, which falls on Sept. 23. ― ED.
The celebration of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for this year comes during the renaissance march that was initiated by the founder, His Majesty King Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, who laid the foundations of the Kingdom's ideological, institutional and administrative pillars.
Those foundations are still strong in the era of his loyal sons, guided by his ideas and rich experiences in the fields of development planning and economic administration.
That resulted in concrete achievements and successes in all fields that have been reflected in continuing rise in citizen's standard of living and their quality of life, comprehensive urban and industrial renaissance, infrastructure system, advanced economic and social services covering all parts of the Kingdom.
Such achievements stand as a clear evidence of the effectiveness of development approach that has been adopted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Over more than three decades, structural developments have been achieved.
The Kingdom's economy gained a lot of strength, which enabled it to face the global economic instability, and increased its adaptability to sudden changes and developments.
Over the past years, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a remarkable increase in the volume of direct foreign investments, and became the leading country in the Middle East in this field.
The Kingdom was ranked the 16th among 181 countries in 2008 for attracting investment, according to the World Bank Group.
Given that Saudi citizens are the center of development and its ultimate goal, human resources development received particular importance in the renaissance march of the Kingdom.
The Kingdom has assumed a prominent place among the countries of the world, and an active member in the international community.
It is among the top donor countries to provide helping hands to all those who are in need.
A total value of aid and concessional developmental assistance to the developing countries provided by the Kingdom through bilateral and multilateral channels reached more than $ 90 billion during the period from 1973 to 2007, benefiting 87 countries worldwide, namely in Africa and Asia.
The Kingdom's efforts to support development plans in the developing countries are not only confined to provide assistance, but also worked for employing its contributions in many regional and international development institutions in order to support international initiatives and efforts to solve development problems that face these countries.
In the context of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations, the two countries witnessed a remarkable progress as a result of the summit between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, King of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, in Riyadh between March 24 and 26, 2007, and the talks that were held between the late Korean President and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.
Such developments were indicators that bilateral relations have entered a new phase of promotion and development.
Seven memorandums of understanding were signed during former President Roh's visit to the Kingdom.
The Republic of Korea is one of the important countries for the Kingdom in terms of its economic international relations order.
As being a developing country with a useful and impressive development experience, as well as a G-20 member, Korea has acquired a unique experience in facing international economic crises.
Extending bilateral investments may lead to the strengthened political and economical ties, and thus achieve economic growth for both sides.
Trade relations between Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have witnessed a steady development during the last five years which is reflected by increasing of trade volume reached 300 percent during that period. The number of joint ventures reached around 98 projects, including industrial ones.
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