September 23rd Glorious Day for unification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The following are excerpts from the message of Ambassador Riyad Almubaraky of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Republic of Korea contributed to The Korea Post media for publication (publisher of 3 English and 2 Korean news media since 1985) on the occasion of the 88th anniversary of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.—Ed.

The twenty-third day of September 1932 was a glorious day in our history where the founding King Abdul Aziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud had unified the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With such precious national occasion every year, we celebrate and remember with pride, appreciation and dignity, the efforts and sacrifices made by the founding King and his sons, the Kings who came after him, and who followed his approach in building, developing and serving the Kingdom and its people.

This year we celebrate the 88th Anniversary, while the Kingdom continues the process of development and modernization in all fields, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, and the trustworthy Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdul Aziz. The Kingdom is experiencing a qualitative renaissance despite regional and international developments and challenges.

In recognition of the leadership's keenness to invest all national resources to serve the country and its citizens, the Kingdom's "Vision 2030" was announced, with its national contents, development and future plans, to diversify sources of income, increase efficiency of government performance, and to modernize regulations and administrative structure. Marking the beginning of a new phase of development and the hard work for better future, “Vision 2030” aims to keep up with 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.

The Kingdom plays a key role in maintaining security and stability in the region, and it enjoys a regional, Arab, Islamic and international status, while playing an active and influential role in international decision-making, and its continuous pursuit for international peace and security.

Moreover, the Kingdom is one of the largest countries supporting the humanitarian and relief work in the world, aware of the importance of alleviating human suffering and ensuring a decent life for those who are vulnerable and needy. The foreign aid provided by the Kingdom during the last two decades amounted to more than 84.7 billion US dollars.

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, which dates back to 1962. Through a long history, the two countries have witnessed a qualitative leap and great development in many fields, including politics, military, economy, education, culture, and health.

These achievements were consistent with the policies and principles set out in the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed between the two friendly countries.

The Saudi-Korean bilateral relations are a model of relations among nations, where they have often coincided with common positions on various international events, bilateral coordination, mutual understanding and mutual support in international bodies and organizations.

The trade data confirm that the volume of trade exchange between the two friendly countries amounted to 26 billion US dollars last year and amounted to 17 billion dollars until July of this year (2018). Korea is the Kingdom's fifth-largest trading partner, while the Kingdom is Korea's largest supplier of crude oil and the largest market in the Middle East for Korean products. Korean companies acquire the highest market share and more Korean companies invest in the Kingdom.

The industrial sector has recently witnessed significant activities and achieved notable progress in 16 projects for joint cooperation out of 40 joint projects that were identified by the two countries, as part of their huge economic cooperation after selecting the Republic of Korea as a strategic partner within the framework of the Kingdom Vision 2030.

Both leaders of the two friendly countries have common interest and desire to strengthening relations and developing cooperation to achieve, promote and serve the common interests of the two friendly countries and their peoples and contribute to regional security, stability and world peace.

I sincerely wish the two countries and the two friendly peoples continued prosperity, security and stability.