SA Bulletin Issue 55 JULY 2012 WEB

JULY 2012 ISSUE 55 VOL 7

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July 2012 Issue 55 Vol 7 www.saudiaustraliaonline.com

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The appointment of Prince Salman as crown prince of Saudi Arabia by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah sends a strong message to the world, while ensuring a smooth transition in the Kingdom and

proving it is a haven of stability in a region that’s been boiling with political unrest.Prince Salman, a veteran statesman and administrator, has been appointed the new crown prince of Saudi Arabia following the death of Prince Naif.“We have selected Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz as crown prince and appointed him as deputy prime minis-ter and minister of defense,” King Abdullah said yesterday in a royal decree.King Abdullah issued another decree appointing Prince Ahmed as interior minister, a post held by the late Prince Naif since 1975. Prince Ahmed was hitherto the deputy interior minister.After the burial of Prince Naif in Makkah on Sunday, the quick elevation of Prince Salman to the second most powerful position, though expected the world over, sig-naled that the royal family is a real political institution by displaying unity and continuity.Their move yet again fulfilled the aspiration of the Saudi people by providing a smooth change.“It was widely expected, so it came to confirm an expec-tation. I think that’s an indication of the strength of the element of continuity within the system,” said Asaad Al-Shamlan, a political science professor in Riyadh.Many analysts felt that Prince Salman would take a cau-tious approach to reforms, while stressing the key role he plays in handling major issues within the family.Eleanor Gillespie, a contributing editor of the London-based Gulf States Newsletter, said that Prince Salman’s

job as Riyadh governor has allowed him to serve as a generally very well-respected arbiter of Al-Saud family affairs, as well as overseeing the city’s emergence as Saudi Arabia’s capital. “Salman has a reputation for probity and for being ‘clean’ when it comes to money,” she added.“Prince Salman advocates a cautious approach to social and cultural reform. It appeared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respectful of its tradi-tions and conservative ways,” said Robert Jordan, who was US ambassador in Riyadh from 2001-03.“He doesn’t blindly accept everything the United States says, but at the same time he understands the impor-tance of the relationship, which goes beyond oil,” Jordan added.Jane Kinninmont, a Middle East and North Africa senior research fellow from London’s Chatham House, said: “The new crown prince may adopt a more reform-


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ist approach... But don’t expect change to come quickly or dramatically.”“Crown Prince Salman is obviously the correct choice based on Saudi succession…He is well known within Saudi Arabia, but also to international delegations,” said Theodore Karazik, director of research at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis in Dubai.“He will be able to help pick the second generation of Saudi princes to be promoted to national level office so that the succession process continues to be steady...and will likely advance King Abdullah’s reform agenda.” Karazik said.Prince Salman’s appointment as crown prince has been widely welcomed by Saudis, expatriates and foreign diplomats. He has established strong relations with tribal leaders across the Kingdom and with many foreign heads of state.Last April, he visited the United States and Britain and met with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron.Prince Salman was born in Riyadh on Dec. 31, 1935, and received his education at the Prince’s School in the Saudi capital. He served as deputy governor of Riyadh from

March 1954 to April 1955, and governor of Riyadh from April 1955 to December 1960 and again from February 1963 to Nov. 5, 2011, when he was appointed minister of defense.Prince Salman has played a significant role in the re-markable development of the Riyadh Province. He also made considerable efforts to strengthen Saudi Arabia’s relations with countries in the East and the West. Since 1956, he has chaired various humanitarian and service committees that alleviated the suffering of the victims of natural and man-made disasters.He has received many medals and honors from Bah-rain, Bosnia, France, Morocco, Palestine, the Philip-pines, Senegal, the United Nations and Yemen as well as the King Abdulaziz Medal of the First Order. He is a recipient of several honorary degrees and academic awards, including an honorary doctorate from the Islamic University of Madinah and the Kant Medal by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.Under Prince Salman’s leadership, the Defense Ministry announced plans to modernize the armed forces and also bought sophisticated fighter jets and other aircraft from both the US and UK. In May the Kingdom signed a $ 3 billion deal with Britain to buy trainer jets for its air force. A few days ago, Salman visited Spain to strengthen military cooperation with the country.In the summer resort of Taif, King Abdullah yesterday received a number of Saudi and foreign dignitaries, who came to convey their condolences on the death of Prince Naif. They included King Juan Carlos of Spain, King Hamad of Bahrain, Malaysian Prime Minister Muhammad Najib, Senegalese Prime Minister Abdoul Mbaye, Vice President of Comoro Islands Muhammad Ali Saleh, former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Indonesian Interior Minister Gamawan Fauzi, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi and Interior Min-ister Maj. Gen. Abdul Qader Qahtan, Omani Minister of Heritage and Culture Haithem bin Tarek, and Vice Chairman of Libyan National Council Mustafa Al-Hawni.

“Prince Salman advocates a cautious ap-proach to social and cultural reform. It ap-peared to me he had a good handle on the delicate balancing act he had to do to move society forward while being respect-ful of its traditions and conservative ways,”Robert Jordan, Former US Ambassador in Riyadh


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Senator Carr and his Sau-di counter-part HRH Prince Saud A l - F a i s a l also had a p roduc t i ve e x c h a n g e on regional security de-velopments, including the situation in Syria. “Saudi Arabia is our second largest trading partner in the Gulf,” Senator Carr said. “Total bilateral trade was $1.9 billion in 2011.“Saudi scholarship students studying in Australia under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (around 11,000) make up the largest group of students from the Middle East.”

Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bob Carr visited the Sultanate of Oman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, strengthening Australia’s ties with the Middle East.

Senator Carr’s visit to Oman was the first by an Austral-ian Foreign Minister in at least two decades. Senator Carr’s discussions with his Omani hosts, includ-ing the Minister Responsible for Foreign Affairs, HE Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, covered a range of bi-lateral issues, including the potential for growth in our economic and education links. “Agriculture, aquaculture and mining were identified as areas for expanded commercial engagement,” Senator Carr said. “Oman is delivering a strong message that the nation is “open for business”.”Regional security issues, including piracy were also dis-cussed. The Minister highlighted Australia’s ongoing support for regional counter-piracy efforts, reinforcing Australia interest in working with Oman to pursue a common ap-proach on piracy among countries of the Indian Ocean rim.Senator Carr also met Oman-based members of the Australian business community.“I commend the recent establishment of an Australian Business Group in Oman as “a positive step” for bilateral commercial ties,” Senator Carr said. Senator Carr’s visit to Saudi Arabia reinforced Austral-ia’s commitment to expanding our extensive ties with a country of major strategic importance to the global econ-omy and to regional stability.


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Al-Faisal Islamic College and the Australian Is-lamic cultural Center in Syd-

ney have organized a farewell dinner in honor of H.E. Has-san Talat Nazer the Ambassa-dor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Australia, at the end of his term as ambassador in the Australian capital Canberra. Mr. Shafiq Rahman Abdullah Khan, The founder and presi-dent of Al-Faisal College and the Islamic Cultural Center in Australia, delivered a speech welcoming H.E Nazer,; he also praised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s contribution and sub-stantial role in the dissemina-tion of respect, dialogue and cooperation, which make the Kingdom earn respect and ap-preciation of all Muslims and countries in the world. Abdullah Khan praised the initiatives of the Custo-dian of the Two Holy Mosques and the global confer-ences held under his auspices for better understanding between all religions and cultures, in service to society humanity. The Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad gave a speech in which he expressed his appreciation and respect for each of H.E. Mr. Hassan Nazer, the Saudi

Ambassador praising both the Saudi Arabia leaderships. There were also speeches by Australian officials and re-ligions’ representatives who expressed their thanks and appreciation to Ambassadors Nazer. At the end of the ceremony Shafiq Al-Rahman Abdullah Khan, the President of Al-Faisal college, grant shields for each of H.E Nazer in recognition of his services to the Arab and Muslim communities.

Ambassador Nazer with Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammad, Mufti of Australia

Ambassador Nazer with Mr. Shafiq Rahman Abdullah Khan

Ambassador Nazer with Mr. Ali Roude


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A Record attendance of Arabic countries at Sydney’s 2012 Australia Arab Busi-ness Forum & Expo was held on 5 June 2012 at The Sheraton on the Park Ho-tel, Sydney. Business and governments

from more than 14 Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) countries are sending representatives to Aus-tralia’s only event promoting business between the two regions.A delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the forum included Reda bin Abdulmohsen Al-Nuzha, Saudi Deputy ambassador to Australia; Eng. Osamah Al-Kurdi, Member of Majlis Al-Shura, Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Babtain, and representatives of Saudi companies.During a two-day forum, issues pertaining to enhance investment between Arab countries and Australia were discussed. , The Hon Justine Elliot Australian Parliamentary Sec-retary for Trade commended Saudi Arabia as the im-portant trading partner for Australia In the opening Address to Australian Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Forum and Expo held on 5 June 2012 at The Sheraton on the Park Hotel, Sydney.“ Australia enjoy nearly $2 billion a year in merchandise trade between ourselves and Saudi Arabia, with Aus-tralian exports made up of passenger vehicles, meat and milk Hon Justine Elliot said , . Because of the strong two-way trade relationships we’ve built, people across the Middle East are now able to access the best quality

Australian products.In 2011, Saudi Arabia was Australia’s single largest export market for passenger motor vehicles. Seven out of every ten of our automotive exports go to the Gulf Cooperation Council area. The importance of the Middle East as a market for Aus-tralia continues to grow, including in services. Education is one of Australia’s leading export industries, and we’re continuing to attract students from the Middle East. We had over 22,000 student enrolments from the Middle East in Australia in 2011. That includes 11,700 from Saudi Arabia. 1,300 from the United Arab Emirates. 1,100 from Lebanon. And 1,200 from Egypt. Record Arabic attendance at Forum highlights potential for trade Record attendance of Arabic countries at Sydney’s 2012 Australia Arab Business Forum & Expo provide huge po-tential for Australia to increase trade.

Record attendance of Arabic coun-tries at Sydney’s 2012 Australia Arab Business Forum & Expo provide huge potential for Australia to increase trade.


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“Australia is now seen as a destination for business right across the MENA region. said Mr Syd Giller, Chairman of the Australia Oman Business Council, set up in Melbourne in 2010. “This expanded presence of Arabic businesses at the Forum will put the focus on new export opportunities. “It will also highlight the tremendous opportunities for joint ventures both here overseas.” Countries represented at the Forum, to be held at Sydney’s Sheraton on the Park, include Oman, Qatar, Egypt, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, the King-dom of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Palestine, as well as India.

“We are excited that the Forum will give Arabic countries the attention by Austral-ian businesses that they deserve,” said Mr Giller. At the Forum, Oman will showcase its $50 million in infrastruc-ture development cur-rently under way. 2 This will include five new airports, the up-grading of the Muscat and Salala airports as well as new ports.

The Gov-ernment of Oman is c u r r e n t l y b u i l d i n g the planned Gulf Co-o p e r a t i o n C o u n c i l (GCC) rail n e t w o r k which will link the major con-s t r u c t i o n

hubs in the six GCC countries. Major tourism developments both in resorts and tourism activities are also being undertaken, including a $400 mil-lion resort development awarded to a major Australian con-struction group. “This is a good example of an Australian company partici-pating in opportunities in Oman and highlights the oppor-tunities for many others,” said Mr Giller, a member of the Council for Australia Arab Relations (CAAR), Chairman of the Australia Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry (AACCI) for 7 years and who has lived and worked in the Middle East for more than 30 years. “In the last 10 yrs there has been a considerable inflow of Omani investment in Australian agriculture and in com-mercial and residential property. “The majority of Omani students are choosing Australia for under-graduate and post-graduate education, with 800 cur-rently studying here.”


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Saudi Ambassador to Australia, Hassan Bin Talat Nazer, patronized a gradua-tion ceremony of 270 Saudi students on scholarships at Australian universities who have been awarded PhD’s, Master’s,

and Bachelor’s degrees.Addressing the ceremony, Ambassador Nazer com-mended the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Foreign Scholarships, as well as, the in-itiatives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for the de-velopment of higher education to prepare a promis-ing generation based on creativity and knowledge to contribute to the progress and comprehensive devel-opment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.The Ambassador also patronized the graduation cer-emony of the third group flight technicians of the Saudi’s National Guard at the headquarters of the Australian air academy in the city of Brisbane. Also Ambassador Nazer attended the, the graduation ceremony of thirteenth group of the National Guard pilots who graduated from the Academy of Aviation in the Sunshine city of in the state of Queensland. Ambassador Nazer conveyed the greetings and congratulations of the Custodian of the Two Holy

Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz wishing the graduates success and success.. The Saudi Air National Guard Brigadier Omar bin Fahd alhusan conveyed congratulations to all Graduates on be-half of Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Cabinet’s Member, and Commander of Saudi Na-tional Guard. Brigadier Alhusan commended Graduates for their effort and perseverance during the training course and wished them further successes.At the end of the ceremony, the Ambassador Nazer with the assistant cultural attaché in Australia, Dr. Abdul Aziz Bin Taleb presented certificates to all graduates.

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SA Bulletin Issue 55 JULY 2012 WEB