by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will officially inaugurate a high-speed rail line connecting the holy cities of Mecca and Medina on Tuesday.
The 450 km-long Haramain rail line will connect Mecca, Jeddah, King Abdulaziz International Airport, King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh and Medina, reports Efe news.
Regular trains will start operating on the line from next month between the stations of Makkah Al Mukarramah, Madinah, Sulaymaniyah in Jeddah and King Abdullah Economic City, while trains to Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport will begin around mid-2019.
The line is aimed at doubling the number of visitors and pilgrims to the holy cities and is in line with Saudi Arabia’s development plan, Vision 2030, to expand the economy and reduce its dependence on oil.
With a fleet of 35 trains carrying up to 417 people each, the service is expected to ferry around 60 million passengers yearly.
The distance between Mecca-Medina would be covered in less than two hours, which is less than half the time that it takes to cover the same distance by road.
A consortium comprising 12 Spanish firms along with two Saudi firms have been tasked with building the second phase of the project.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World, Opinions
By Dr. Saud Mohammed Al Sati,
On September 23, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will celebrate its 88th National Day. It marks the day the Kingdom was unified under the founding King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud in 1932. On this occasion, we also celebrate the progress our great nation has made over the last nine decades to become a modern state and a major player on the international arena.
Yet another milestone event in our nation’s historic journey under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince Prince Mohammad bin Salman, is April 25, 2016 – the day Vision 2030 was announced. The Vision expresses our long-term goals and reflects our country’s strengths and capabilities. Our leadership’s vision is of a strong, thriving, and stable Saudi Arabia that provides opportunity for all. The Vision emphasises scaling up economic diversification, raising the skill level of the Saudi young men and women and wisely utilizing the Kingdom’s abundant natural resources.
The Saudi government is exerting continuous efforts at diversifying its economy to achieve the goals set under Vision 2030. The ambitious $500 billion mega city project, NEOM, is underway. The 26,500 square km zone will focus on diverse industries including energy and water, biotechnology, food, advanced manufacturing and entertainment. Additionally, the project of Al-Qiddiya, an entertainment, sports and cultural destination, a first of its kind, has been launched earlier this year near Riyadh. These diverse cities will be significant in creating new employment opportunities and accelerating the growth of the Saudi Arabian economy.
Our eyes are set on the future. Our New Solar Energy Plan 2030 is the world’s largest project of its type. By 2019, the Kingdom’s first two solar generation projects with 3GW and 4.2GW of solar capacity will be commissioned and by 2030, more than 150 GW solar power will be generated. The Plan will help create up to 100,000 direct and indirect jobs in the Kingdom. Additionally, it will increase the GDP by $12 billion and save up to $40 billion annually. Furthermore, Saudi Arabia has been strengthening its oil industry, one of the strongest drivers of its growth and has maintained its position as a key enabler in the global oil economy. In April 2018, Saudi Aramco and a consortium of three Indian oil companies signed a MoU to jointly develop and build an integrated refinery and petrochemical complex in Ratnagiri, West Coast of India. The project is estimated to cost around $ 44 billion.
The Kingdom has also initiated a program of restructuring at all levels of government institutions. Digital services have been expanded to reduce delays and cut tedious bureaucracy and ensure more efficiency, transparency, and accountability. Significant steps have been taken to improve the business and investment climate to promote industrial development, particularly small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). According to a recent World Bank report, Saudi Arabia instituted the largest number of business reforms in the Middle East and North Africa region. In June 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, the MSCI ACWI Index and other applicable regional and international indexes. Multiple regulatory and operational improvements are opening the domestic market to international investors.
Social development is as crucial as economic development. Led by Vision 2030 and the associated National Transformation Program, Saudi Arabia has surpassed a majority of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It was made possible by integrating SDGs into specific and detailed plans and programs developed by the government in partnership with the private sector and civil society organizations.
To promote full participation of women, the Kingdom has launched several initiatives including a national observatory to monitor women’s participation in economic and social development, including a digital portal for female job seekers. The royal decree that has allowed women in the Kingdom to drive has further enabled their participation in the progressive economy. Over 50% of Saudi university graduates are women. Women have achieved remarkable increase in the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Scholarships Abroad in multiple disciplines. Today, women scholarship students are enrolled at universities in 57 countries, accounting for nearly 25% of our students abroad, nearly 150,000 students.
The country’s infrastructure is also being developed and upgraded, including expansion of the railway system and introduction of a new light rail mass transit project with metro lines and a community bus network in the Kingdom’s major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Medinah.
With Vision 2030 serving as a blueprint, the Kingdom is working on the strategic objective of welcoming 30 million pilgrims each year to perform Haj and Umrah. The third phase of expansion of Grand Mosque launched by King Salman is making good progress. Expansion of the building itself covers 1.47 million square metres, including 78 new gates. The various new infrastructure and transportation projects are beautifully shaping up. In Medina, the new Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport was inaugurated by King Salman in 2015. The new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah is expected to be fully operational in a few months. The Haramain Railroad, which has been going under testing for the last four months, will be fully operational later this year. It will shorten the time of the journey between the two holy cities of Makkah and Medina to a couple of hours with the capacity of 60 million passenger per year.
As we focus on the development of our country and bringing about prosperity for our people, we continue to face the challenges in our region and continue our responsible role as a peace-loving nation. Political and economic stability in the Middle East and around the world is one of Saudi Arabi”s greatest priorities. Peace, stability, non-interference, good neighbourliness and prosperity of the region will continue to be our guiding principles. My country will continue its leading role in countering extremism and terrorism and their supporters.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has maintained its pioneering role in spreading goodwill and compassion beyond its borders by being at the forefront of the international community in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP) earmarked for humanitarian aid. The King Salman Centre for Humanitarian Aid and Relief, since its was established in 2015, has provided humanitarian and development aid worth more than $ 1.9 billion to more than 37 countries in four continents, implementing more than 450 projects in areas of food security, housing and shelter, preventative health care and education.
India is one of our most important strategic partners. In all aspects, our ties have grown and expanded. In the spheres of cultural ties and people to people connection, earlier this year India was the ‘Guest of Honour’ at the Kingdom’s National Heritage Festival and Saudi Arabia is hosting over 3.2 million Indian nationals, forming an important pillar of our relationship. Our energy cooperation and joint investment is set to grow further and our security cooperation is also getting stronger. The partnership between our two friendly countries will certainly continue to grow further in the coming years.
(The author is Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to India. The views expressed are personal)
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Jeddah : The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has organized a recreational field trip for 26 children to Marib public park as part of its program to rehabilitate children who were recruited by Houthi militias.
The aim is for children to enjoy playing in open spaces, swimming, and participating in educational and sports competitions to improve their mental health, which was severely affected by forced recruitment.
This trip is part of the third course of the fifth and sixth phases of the project, which targets rehabilitating 80 Yemeni children.
As part of its plan to rehabilitate 2,000 of the children recruited by the Houthi militias in Yemen, KSRelief has rehabilitated 215 children from several Yemeni governorates through the previously implemented courses and phases.
Recently, the center has carried out sewing classes as part of its program to develop manual skills in five Yemeni provinces to support orphan families.
“We didn’t know how to use a sewing machine, but these sessions have helped us acquire many skills,” said trainee Zainab Omar.
Trainee Hoda Ahmed said the classes will help many women acquire new skills and thus become more independent. The classes are part of KSRelief’s programs to empower impoverished families.
—AG/UNA-OIC
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Riyadh : A Saudi official has hinted that the kingdom is moving forward with a plan to dig a canal that may turn neighbouring Qatari peninsula into an island, amid a diplomatic feud between the Gulf nations.
“I am impatiently waiting for details on the implementation of the Salwa island project, a great, historic project that will change the geography of the region,” Saud al-Qahtani, a senior adviser to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, tweeted on Friday.
The plan, which would physically separate the Qatari peninsula from the Saudi mainland, is the latest stress point in a highly fractious 14-month long dispute between the two states, The News International reported.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and being too close to Riyadh´s archrival, Iran.
Doha denied the charges.
In April, the pro-government Sabq news website reported government plans to build a channel — 60km long and 200m wide — stretching across the kingdom’s border with Qatar.
Part of the canal, which would cost up to $750 million, would be reserved for a planned nuclear waste facility, it said.
Both Saudi and Qatar authorities did not respond to requests for comment and there was no immediate reaction on the plan from Qatar, The News International reported.
After the dispute erupted last year, Qatar — a small peninsula nation — found its only land border closed, its state-owned airline barred from using its neighbours’ airspace, and Qatari residents expelled from the boycotting nations.
Mediation efforts led by Kuwait and the US, which has its largest Middle East air base in Qatar, have so far failed to resolve the dispute.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Cairo: The Saudi-led coalition said Tuesday it will respond to a UN report that suggested war crimes may have been committed in war-torn Yemen.
The coalition “will take an appropriate stance on the report after a legal review of it,” the coalition said in a statement.
UN experts earlier Tuesday said that individuals in the Yemeni government and coalition forces conducted attacks in Yemen that may amount to war crimes.
“The Group of Experts have reasonable grounds to believe that individuals in the Government of Yemen and the coalition may have conducted attacks in violation of the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution that may amount to war crimes,” said the 41-page report issued by the UN experts, which was mandated by UN Human Rights Council.
Yemen has been wracked by conflict since 2014 when Shia Houthi rebels overran much of the country.
The conflict escalated one year later when Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a wide-ranging military campaign aimed at rolling back Houthi gains in Yemen.
Riyadh accuses the rebel group of serving as a proxy force for Shia Iran, Saudi Arabia’s arch-foe in the region.
The coalition airstrikes, according to the report, caused “most direct civilian casualties after hitting residential areas, markets, funerals, weddings, detention facilities, civilian boats, and medical facilities.”
Some 6,660 civilians were killed and 10,563 injured in the Yemeni conflict since March 2015, the UN Human Rights Office said and warned that the real figures are likely to be “significantly higher.”
The report also highlighted the crimes of Houthi forces, including killing of civilians and child recruitment.
—AA
