Saudi Arabia: Century’s Biggest Success Story Celebrates its National Day 2023

Saudi Arabia, under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed’s leadership, has managed to leave its mark on the international arena.

Saudi Arabia celebrated its 93rd National Day on Saturday 22 September 2023. It is an occasion for Saudis to celebrate important developments of the Kingdom’s history, since its founding by King Abdulaziz and until the present under the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia, under King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed’s leadership, has managed to leave its mark on the international arena and develop a firm, determined, just and balanced policy. It approved projects that will elevate the country to new heights in the future, building on the achievements of past rulers.

Crown Prince Mohammed is the charismatic leader who, ever since emerging in the political arena, has prioritized critical economic, development, political, intellectual and social affairs with their local, regional and international dimensions. He succeeded in laying the foundation for a new policy for the Kingdom that addresses both the present and the future according to a clear strategy that breaks away from traditional approaches and solutions.

“ Saudi Arabia dreams have not stopped since the foundation of the Kingdom. Every one has a role to play in highlighting the progress that has been made and sharing the Kingdom’s story of transformation.”

He chose to focus on the Kingdom’s strengths and massive potential, steering the country away from reliance on oil as a sole source of revenue. He believes that a great future lies in store for Saudi Arabia because he is convinced that the people have only exploited ten percent of their country’s potential. Moreover, he believes that the Kingdom’s location, at an intersection between Asia, Europe and Africa, allows it to become pivotal for these three continents.

In an interview with Bret Baier, chief political anchor of Fox News, at NEOM earlier this week, Crown Prince Mohammed said the Kingdom is “the biggest success story of the 21st century.”

He stressed that Saudi Arabia was the fastest growing country in all sectors, and had achieved the fastest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) among the G20 countries for two consecutive years.

Saudi Arabia Participates in Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Australia

Saudi Arabia is taking part in the four-day , Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), held in Melbourne, Auastralia 19 and 22 September 2023 .

Saudi Arabia is taking part in the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC), held in Melbourne, Australia, between September 19 and 22, under the umbrella of the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GGC).

The Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority (Monshaat) Vice Governor for Entrepreneurship Saud Al-Sabhan heads the Kingdom’s delegation that is made up of representatives of several public institutions and Saudi entrepreneurs.

Participating in the congress is bound to boost Saudi Arabia’s status as an important supporter of SMEs, as well as highlight efforts that the authority exerts in support of entrepreneurs and SMEs. It will also give an opportunity to entrepreneurs to network with global experts and specialists, and benefit from their expertise, through various programs and initiatives that Monshaat organizes.
The delegation, which includes several government institutions, including the ministries of investment, communications and information technology, environment, water and agriculture, and industry and mineral resources, is slated to discuss with representatives of international institutions important opportunities for SMEs and means to boost cooperation to develop entrepreneurship in the Kingdom.
The delegation is expected to visit Melbourne Entrepreneurial Center and the Hatch Quarter incubator and accelerator, which provide support and consultations to SMEs to help them expand and participate in global markets to attract investments.

Saudi Arabia evacuates over 150 Saudis, foreign nationals from Sudan

In the implementation of the directives of the Kingdoms Leadership, we are pleased to announce the safe arrival of the citizens of the Kingdom who were evacuated from the Republic of Sudan as well as several nationals of brotherly and friendly countries, including diplomats and international officials, who arrived in an evacuation operation carried out by the Royal Saudi Naval Forces with the support of various branches of the armed forces. The number of citizens who were evacuated reached 91 citizens, while the number of people who were evacuated from brotherly and friendly countries reached approximately 66, representing the following nationalities (Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Tunisia, Pakistan, India, Bulgaria, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Canada, and Burkina Faso). The Kingdom worked to provide all the necessary needs of foreign nationals in preparation for their departure to their countries.

Ambassador Sultan Bin Khuzaim has presented his credentials to the Governor-General of Australia.

Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Australia Sultan Bin Khuzaim has presented his credentials to the Governor-General of Australia, General David Hurley During a special ceremony held at the Government house in Canberra on Thursday 16 March 2023.

While welcoming the quality of bilateral relations and growing exchanges between Saudi Arabia and Australia, the Governor General and Ambassador Sultan Bin Khuzaim had a constructive exchange on issues of common interests.

The Saudi diplomat stressed the importance of further consolidating friendly relations and exploring new partnerships to face emerging challenges and fulfil the aspirations of the two peoples.

Australia and Saudi Arabia have a diplomatic relationship that dates back to the 1950s. The two countries have engaged in bilateral trade and investment, cultural exchange, and political cooperation over the years.

In recent times, the relationship between Australia and Saudi Arabia has been shaped by a number of factors, including economic ties and regional security concerns.

Economic ties between the two countries have been growing steadily, with Saudi Arabia being Australia’s one of the largest trading partner in the Middle East. The two countries have significant trade in the areas of food, education, and defense, among others.

In terms of regional security, Australia and Saudi Arabia have cooperated on counter-terrorism efforts and participated in joint military exercises.

Saudi Embassy participates in Canberra’s National Multicultural Festival

Saudi Embassy in Canberra participated in the Australian National Multicultural Festival 2023, which was held in the Australian capital City Canberra, over three days from Friday 17 February to Sunday 19 February 2023 and attracted more than 300 thousand people.

The Saudi pavilion at the festival presented and promoted a number of aspects of Saudi culture and tourism, authentic customs and traditions, and introduced visitors to Saudi projects and initiatives such as (NEOM, The Line, and My Initiative). Green Saudi Arabia and Green Middle East.

The Saudi pavilion received a large number of visitors including the ACT Chief Minister , the Minister of Multiculturalism, the Dean of the Canberra’s Diplomatic Corps, and Ambassadors of several brotherly and friendly countries.

This festival is one of the Australia’s biggest celebrations of cultural diversity, attracted around 300,000 people over 3 days, for more than 170 cultures.

The Saudi Arabia Charge d’Affaires to Australia H.E Khalid Eid Alshammri congratulate the Governor General David Hurley on the Australia National Day.

The Charge d’Affaires of the Royal Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Australia H.E Khalid Eid Alshammri congratulated the Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, The Hon David Hurley, and the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the occasion of Australia Day which is marked on 26th January, during the National Flag Raising Ceremony in Canberra,

Saudi  Embassy in Australia celebrates the International Day of the Arabic Language

The Saudi Embassy in Australia celebrated World Arabic Language Day in the presence of the charge d’affaires of the Saudi Embassy. Mr  Abdullah Al-Sharif , The Saudi military attaché in Canberra and Wellington, Brigadier General Talal bin Hussein Al-Assaf and a number of officials and representatives of diplomatic missions in Canberra.

The charge d’affaires   Mr Al-Sharif, stressed how keen the Kingdom’s leaders are to preserve the Arabic language and spoke about the King Salman International Complex for the Arabic Language and the importance of the Arabic language and its status.

The Chargé d’affaires of the Cultural Attaché, Dr. Abdul Bari Al-Tamni, delivered a speech in which he addressed the status of the Arabic language and the importance of celebrating it on the International Arabic Language Day.

The event included a lot of linguistic information and rich links to digital libraries of Arabic books – the cultural and intellectual heritage of the Arabic language. The Arabic language film was also shown.

The ceremony concluded with a speech by Mr  Ali Al-Khathami, a PhD student, on the contribution of the Arabic language to human civilization and culture.

Saudi Embassy in  Australia Participates in 2022 ‘Cat Walk’ Initiative

Saudi Arabia’s Embassy in Australia participated in the global initiative “Cat Walk.” to raise awareness about the importance of their endangered lives.

A number of the Saudi embassy staff in Canberra walked a distance of 7 kilometers to raise awareness and encourage the conservation of wild cats, especially the Arabian leopard, which the Kingdom made great efforts to protect from extinction and return it to its natural environment.

Catwalk is an annual global event that invites people to promote interconnected well-being and preservation of wildlife, including the seven big cats — tigers, lions, leopards, jaguars, pumas, cheetahs and snow leopards, with a focus on the endangered Arabian leopard.

Minister Al-Khorayef concludes successful visit to Australia: Saudi Arabia is open for business and tourism.

By: SA News.

The Honorable ,Bandar bin Ibrahim Al-Khorayef, Saudi Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources concluded a successful visit to Australia.

The visit focused on deepening Saudi Australia strong relationships and advancing shared priorities, including investment opportunities in the Kingdom’s mining sector, to attract qualitative investments to the Kingdom, and discuss areas of cooperation and investment opportunities between the two countries, to promote the growth and development of the two sectors, benefit from successful international experiences and exchange expertise with Australia.

During his visit, Minister Al-Khorayef,  has opened the Saudi Pavilion at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) held in Sydney, Australia between November 2 and 4 2022, which was attended by more 7,500 delegates and more than 470 companies and organisations where global mining leaders connected with technology, finance, together with the message that Saudi Arabia is open for business and for tourism.

The Minister confirmed during the meetings he held in Australia that Saudi Arabia is an important trading partner for Australia in the Middle East and that there is significant potential for economic ties to grow particularly in the areas of agriculture, mining services, education and construction with many opportunities arising and existing and potential collaborations including Food and Beverages Processing as well as Mining, Monitoring and Evaluation, Petroleum, Coal, Chemicals, Aluminum, Rubber, Fertilizers and Metals.

Across the week, the Saudi delegation aimed to enhance cooperation in the industrial, mining and critical minerals sectors and supply chains and to expand cooperation in innovation and R&D. They also introduced and promoted Saudi products and explored increased collaboration on export and import between Australian Made and Saudi Made.

Meetings were held with state and federal ministers, the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, Australian Stock Exchange, Australian Made and the heads of Australian and international investment and mining companies.

The new Ministry is part of a national industrial strategy to diversify the country’s economic base in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. A key part of that strategy is to exploit the Kingdom’s mineral wealth to transform the country into a leading industrial and mining powerhouse and make mining the third pillar of the national industry.

Since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, the Kingdom has issued 145 licenses and attracted US$8 billion from foreign direct investment and the goal now is for the mining and mineral production sector to attract further investments worth $32 billion with the aim of increasing the contribution of the mining sector to the Saudi GDP to a target of 64 billion US dollars by 2030.

As part of the strategy to accelerate exploration, Minister Al-Khorayef announced a range of mining and exploration investment, collaboration and licence opportunities including five new copper, zinc, silver and lead ore collaborations between the Ministry and Australian and other international companies.

Full details of the application process for licences are still to be announced but Minister Al-Khorayef, who has 27 years’ experience in investment in Saudi Arabia and is chair of the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technical Zones, told delegates there will be an open process of public competitive tender in line with Saudi Arabia’s mining investment regulations to achieve justice and transparency in competitive processes and integrate the legislative environment with policies and infrastructure to provide an attractive environment for local and global investments.

With the Kingdom’s national industrial strategy largely built on the role of the private sector creating an agile and competitive sustainable industrial economy, he said the role of government is to provide the right environment for strategic international partnerships with the private sector to thrive and take the lead – similar to that which the Kingdom has with the United States – with the overall goal being to cultivate innovation and know-how, to grow the industrial base and unlock international trade and build world class supply chains.

The Kingdom was positioned as a highly attractive market for international investment with the availability of capital and high purchasing power; stable political and monetary policies; an evolving regulatory environment determined to ensure transparency and ease of conducting business; an abundance of natural and energy resources waiting to be exploited and the country’s regional leadership and geographic position in the middle of the world making Saudi Arabia an ideal place for investment and exports.

Australia and Saudi Arabia relations

Saudi Arabia and Australia have a long-standing and friendly relationship  it was progressed significantly in recent years and moved from normal relations to relations of mutual trust and partnership in various fields. Australian government has stressed on the importance of achieving economical and investment partnerships between Australia and the Saudi Arabia in multiple fields. Saudi Arabia and Australia have also worked together in the fight against extremism and terrorism for stability and peace in the world. The growth and increasing number of Saudis who are receiving scholarships, education and postgraduate studies in Australian universities is an important factor in the development of these bilateral relations and in promoting humanitarian relations between the two countries on more than one level. Australia and Saudi Arabia currently enjoy a friendly and cooperative relation- ship, based on extensive trade relations as well as people-to- people contacts. The two countries also cooperate through the Group 20.

Saudi Embassy open Windows to the World in Canberra

On  Saturday the 22th of October 2022, the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canberra welcomed guests and visitors into the Embassy. The Open Day was part of the Windows to the World program; an initiative of the ACT Government to engage participating embassies and high commissions and provide a unique insight to these iconic buildings.

The event was a great success and saw over  1000  visitors, who were able to enjoy a wide range of activities and gain perspective on Saudi  rich cultural heritage.

Throughout the event, the public enjoyed sampling dates  and range of coffee blends from the kingdom and learn more about the Saudi unique customs,  including  Al-Ula  as most prominent Saudi landmarks, and learned about the Taif roses and its products.

The exhibition Displayed during the day Saudi traditional and heritage pieces and antiques, also the visitors experienced  live cooking demonstrations, with visitors being able to observe the cooking process of traditional Saudi food and enjoy the delicious food afterwards, and be enchanted by Folkloric Dance Performances.

In addition, visitors has been introduced to the Kingdom’s future projects and plans in accordance with the Saudi Vision 2030.  

The Saudi tourist visa section was one of the most prominent pavilions that attracted the visitors who learned about the method of obtaining a Saudi tourist visa online .