Saudi Ambassador To Australia Presents His Credentials

Canberra, August 30, 2018, SPA —

The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Australia His Excellency Mr Mesaad Ibrahim AL Sulaim presented his credentials to the Governor-General of Australia, Peter Cosgrove, at a special ceremony held yesterday at the Governor General’s Palace in the Capital Canberra.

The Ambassador conveyed the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, and their wishes to the Governor-General for good health and his people steady progress and prosperity, expressing his happiness at the status of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Australia and his aspirations to develop them to the highest levels in all fields.

SAUDI STUDENT HERO RISKS HIS LIFE TO SAVE A STRANGER’S: This came in line with my Saudi values and principles .

Saudi’s student selflessly jumps into Melbourne’s Yarra River on 9pm Sunday 21st January to save a stranger’s man aged in his 50s has been hailed a hero.
Without a thought for his own safety, Saudi student’s Ahmed Almohaimeed jumped into the water to try and assist the man.
“I didn’t think so much about myself. I jumped over and I tried to push him up,” Mr Almohaimeed said, “this came in line with the Saudi values and principles and I will do it again he said.
Despite his best efforts, the stranger man aged in his 50s was too heavy and emergency services pulled both men to safety.
Mr Almohaimeed was taken to the Alfred Hospital barely conscious while the other man, aged in his 50s, was rushed to the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The older man remains in a critical condition after suffering a suspected heart attack.
The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Chargé d’Affaires Mr Meshal Hamdan Alrogi praised the student hero for his action, saying he “bravely stood up and ventured his life, to save the old man he does not know” , “He is a true hero and we all proud of him .”
Mr Almohaimeed has since been praised by friends, along with delegates from the Saudi Arabian embassy who paid a special visit from Canberra.

Saudi Arabia : Missile attack on Riyadh ‘an act of war’ by Iran

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was subject to an aggressive attack by Iran backed militias in Yemen, on Saturday 4 November 2017 at 20.07 hrs., where a ballistic missile was launched from the Yemeni land towards Riyadh.  The Saudi Air Defence Forces intercepted and brought down the missile, which resulted in the projection of fragments in a residential area, with no financial losses or human casualties. The Embassy notes the following:

1.        This launched missile was similar to the missile launched on Yanbu City on 22 July 2017. It was 100% manufactured in Iran. It was sent in parts to the Iran backed militias in Yemen, and was reassembled in Yemen. The fact that the missile crossed a long distance from Yemeni land reaching the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, demonstrates that this was a developed missile. It is beyond the capabilities of Iran backed militias in Yemen to manufacture or develop such a missile. This proves the participation of experts from Iran and Hezbollah, in the assembly and launch of the missile from Yemen. This is turn confirms the Iranian intervention in Yemen. It also confirms Iran’s support of rebels against the legitimacy in Yemen, as well as its targeting of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is a breach of UN Security Council Resolution 2216.

2.        The absurd and random launch of developed long range missiles from the Yemeni land, targeting civilian and residential areas, is contradictory to international human laws. It is a threat to the Kingdom, as well as to regional and international security. It undermines international efforts to restore legitimacy and security in Yemen, hindering all international and regional peacemaking efforts

3.        Such launch of missiles is considered an aggressive action by Iran. The Kingdom will not stand idly by. The Kingdom preserves its right to defend itself against Iran, in the manner and timing it deems appropriate.

4.        The Kingdom will put in place measures to ensure that the smuggling of ballistic missiles to Yemen does not recur, implementing UN Resolution 2216.

5.        In this context of ballistic missiles’ launch by Iran backed militias in Yemen, such as the launch of a ballistic missile several months ago towards the compass of all Muslims Makkah Al-Mukarramah, the Kingdom stresses that not responding to such attacks with a strong condemnation by all States of the international community will brazen the Iran backed militias in Yemen and the recurrence of such aggression. This in turn will threaten the security and stability of the region, as well as undermine the efforts aiming to restore peace in Yemen and stability in the region.  

The Embassy also notes that not standing up to those flagrant attacks with a strong condemnation by all States of the international community will encourage Iran backed militias in Yemen to continue such aggression, which threatens the security and stability of the region.

Saudi Arabia welcomes Palestinian reconciliation move

An official source at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the developments of current reconciliation efforts, expressing hope that Palestinian Consensus Government succeeds in achieving national unity and ending the Palestinian internal division with all its painful impacts.
The source stressed that this step is significant turning point in the history of the Palestinian cause. It will – God willing – enable Palestinians to achieve a unified Palestinian front in a manner that fulfills the aspirations of the Palestinian people. It will enable them to move forward with the political process in order to regain their legitimate rights.

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Saudi Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Meshal Alrogi, “87th National Day Reception Speech

This year marks the 87^th anniversary of the foundation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

And I would hereby like to extend my heartfelt greetings, on behalf of the Saudi embassy and in my own name, to our Australian friends, our Saudi nationals and students based in Australia.

In the last two to three decades, our world has dramatically changed.

We have mostly moved from conflicts between nations to facing at present a different kind of threat, which is not country against another country, but of a network of extremists and terrorists.

These are not states with borders and governments with whom one can negotiate.  They are a network of criminals with no fixed location, unbound by rules of war, or consciousness.

They break all boundaries of decency, even targeting holy religious sites, and use technological know-how and social media as an instrument against civilians.

Terrorism cannot be associated with a particular religion, culture, or nationality.  Attacks committed by terrorist networks are not against one particular nation.

Rather, it is against all nations and religions around the world, with attacks in Sydney, Bali, Riyadh and Makkah, Paris, London and New York.

It is against this background, that the Kingdom has long acknowledged this reality, and is working to develop the tools required to confront these new challenges.

In two years alone, the global economic impact of terrorism is estimated to have exceeded 244 billion Australian dollars.

The Kingdom firmly believes that there can be no justification for terrorist activities. That is why we have been at the forefront of countries fighting terrorism, with our ‘Three M’ strategy:

(1)             Going after the Men,

(2)             Going after the Money,

(3)             And, going after the Mindset.

We have equipped our forces and improved our intelligence capabilities.

In doing so, we have foiled over 100 terrorist attacks, and through a network of agreements with other countries, our shared intelligence have helped to unravel terrorist plots in foreign countries long before it could occur.

We have put in place strict financial controls in our banking system, and enacted laws that prohibit charities from sending money abroad.  As a result, we have better oversight of the cash coming into and out of the country.

We have laws that criminalise the funding of terrorism in Saudi Arabia, and introduced laws that criminalise any of our citizens going to areas of combat to join and engage in combat.

The last of this three-pronged approach is the mindset.   Ultimately, radicalisation doesn’t occur in a void. They take place in a social context. The Saudi Government has intensified its efforts to fight against the ideology of violent extremism.

That is why we have established, in May of this year, The Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology, commonly known as which combats, exposes, and counters extremist ideology.

As well the Monasaha management centres, which is an innovative initiative aimed at rehabilitating former terrorists and preventing terrorism.

To prevent unrests, it is imperative that we build a more prosperous world and address poverty that exists around the world.

To ensure this, the Kingdom has over the past four decades provided over $140 billion Australian dollars in development and humanitarian aid across the world.

But going hand in hand with these efforts, it is vital that we also address the other underlying causes of terrorism, including foreign occupation, marginalisation, and the promotion of terrorism ideology.

For that, we need to coordinate international efforts, which Saudi Arabia is doing and is committed to, which is why it established the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Centre.

In concluding my remarks, I invite you to watch a 3 minute video, which will be screened across these two screen shortly.

Kingdom, UAE, Bahrain, Egypt confirm dialogue with Qatar on implementation of demands should not be preceded by any conditions

Friday 7-9-2017

While the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain and the Arab Republic of Egypt declare that they appreciate the mediation of the Amir of Kuwait and his commendable efforts to restore the Qatari authority to the right path and his declaration thatQatar is willing to recognize the 13 demands and negotiate them, they stress that the dialogue on the implementation of the demands should not be preceded by any conditions,  and the four countries regret what was said by the Amir of Kuwait on the success of mediation in stopping military intervention;  stressing that the military option has not been and will not be considered in any case, and that the crisis with Qatar is not only a Gulf dispute but with many of Arab and Islamic countries, which announced their position on the Qatari interventions and support for terrorism, and many other countries in the world were unable to declare their position due to the Qatari penetration of their internal affairs, which made them fear the consequences, especially with the Qatari precedents in support of coups, and embracing and financing terrorism and extremist thought hate speech.

The statement of Qatar’s Foreign Minister after the Amir’s statement confirm Qatar’s rejection of the dialogue without lifting the boycott measures taken by the four countries to protect their interests legally and politically and setting preconditions for dialogue confirms Qatar’s lack of seriousness in dialogue, combating and financing terrorism and interfering in the internal affairs of countries.

The four countries appreciated the position of US president Donald Trump in his firm assertion that the only way to resolve the crisis is the need to stop the support and financing of terrorism and his unwillingness to resolve the crisis unless this is achieved.

Saudi Embassy: There are no arms deals between Saudi Arabia and Australia.

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canberra denies the content in the Sydney Morning Herald’s article titled “Australia selling military equipment to Saudi Arabia during brutal Yemen conflict” on 26/3/2017 and the Canberra Times article “Senate pressures the Ministry of Defence to clarify its arms deal with the Kingdom” dated 30/3/2017, and the statement of the Spokesperson of the Greens Senator Scott Ludlam stating that the Kingdom is one of the most oppressive regimes in the world and that it is participating in a ferocious attack against Yemeni People.

The Embassy would like to state that there are no arms deals between Saudi Arabia and Australia. The above claims are not true. The Embassy emphasizes that the Kingdom stands by the Yemeni People.

Saudi Arabia affirms it has never requested Iranian mediatio

A Saudi senior official affirms that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has never requested Iranian mediation in any way, shape, or form.

The source further clarified that reports circulating in the media are outright baseless.

The source confirmed Saudi Arabia’s firm position, which rejects any rapprochement with an Iranian regime that spreads terrorism and extremism, both regionally and globally, and interferes in the affairs of other countries.

The source asserted that negotiations with the current Iranian regime are not possible since experience has shown that this regime has no respect for diplomatic rules and norms or the principles of international relations. It is a regime that finds it acceptable to fabricate lies and distort facts. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia emphasizes the dangers posed by the Iranian regime and its aggressive behavior on global peace and stability.

Saudi Arabia calls on all nations to work together in order to deter aggressive behavior by the Iranian regime and compel it to abide by international law, UN resolutions, and diplomatic norms and procedures.

Saudi Arabia: Iran refuses to cooperate in Saudi embassy attack in Tehran.

SA News , Sydney, Aug 02, 2017:  

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Canberra _ Press Release

A Press Release from the Saudi Embassy in Canberra on Wednesday explained that Iranian authorities had persistently and consistently stalled and refused to resume investigation into the incident of storming the embassy of the kingdom of the Saudi Arabia  in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad even though these attacks were perpetrated a year and a half ago.

The Saudi Embassy statement stated that: On 9/2/2016, the Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia in New York received a letter from the Permanent Mission of Iran in regards to the incident against the premises of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Saudi Consulate General in Mashhad.

The letter conveyed the desire of the Iranian Government to obtain permission from the Government of Saudi Arabia to enter the premises of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and the Saudi Consulate General in Mashhad, to allow them to complete their investigation of the incident.

The Iranian side was advised of the Saudi Government’s approval of their request, on condition that a team from the Kingdom travels to Iran and be present when Iranian Authorities enter the Saudi Embassy and the Consulate General premises in Iran. Another condition of Saudi Arabia’s approval was for Iran to advise the Saudi team during their stay in Iran of the outcome of the investigation that was being conducted by Iranian Authorities.

The Iranian side agreed to the conditions of the Saudi side in travelling to Iran and for the purposes stated above.

They also agreed that the Saudi team arranges for the shipping from Iran of the personal property of Saudi Diplomats who had been posted to Iran. Iran conveyed its desire to apply reciprocity principles in relation to such property.

The Iranian side also requested the names of the members of the Saudi team. The Iranian side were informed of the Saudi side’s agreement to their requests. They were also advised of the names of the Saudi team members, and that the Saudi team will be travelling to Iran and staying from 25 to 29 December 2016.

The Saudi team continued to follow up; the Iranian Authorities continued to procrastinate. The Iranian side requested from the Saudi side to set a new date for the arrival of the Saudi team in Tehran. The Saudi team advised that the date of 3 July 2017 was suitable for them to travel to Iran. The Iranian side conveyed their agreement to the date suggested by the Saudi side. The Iranian Consulate in Dubai issued the visas required for the Saudi team to enter Iran.

However, to date, the Iranian Authorities have been declined to the issue a landing permit in Iran required for the Saudi team’s airplane. Iranian Authorities have associated the matter of the Saudi team’s airplane landing permit, with the matter of the issuance of visas to enter Saudi Arabia for the Iranian team wanting to visit Iranian Diplomatic Premises in the Kingdom, as well as with the matter of the issuance of visas to enter Saudi Arabia for the team from the Iranian Hajj Organization.

The Iranian Authorities refused the presence of a Saudi Team when they enter the Saudi Missions premises to continue investigating

The Iranian side’s refusal for a Saudi Team to be present when Iranian Authorities enter the premises of the Saudi Embassy and Consulate in Iran, confirms that the Iranian side is neither serious in its investigations into the attack nor in prosecuting and punishing the perpetrators. This is not surprising about Iran, who has a long record in violating the inviolability of diplomatic mission, such as the attacks on:

• The US Embassy in 1979 and holding its staff hostage for 444 days
• The Saudi Embassy in 1987
• The Kuwaiti Embassy in 1987
• The Russian Embassy in 1988
• A Kuwaiti Diplomat in 2007
• The Pakistani Embassy in 2009
• The British Embassy in 2011
• The Saudi Embassy and Consulate in 2016

Iran’s refusal for a Saudi diplomatic team to be present when the Iranian Authorities enter the Saudi Diplomatic Mission’s premises in Iran, as well as imposing no punishment against the perpetrators involved in that attack, prove that Iran does not want to be reasonable or logical. Rather than bridging the gap, Iran aims to further ignite the situation, as it continues to act in a manner that is contrary to international principles and conventions. It also proves that the act of violating the inviolability of the Saudi Diplomatic Mission’s premises was an organized and premeditated act. It was not a mere spontaneous reaction undertaken by Iranian Citizens; it was rather part of a bigger Iranian plan supported by the Iranian Regime, seeking to escalate the situation.

Ambassador Al Saleh meets Australian Defence Minister

6-2-2016 Spa 

The Saudi Ambassador in Australia and New Zealand Nabil Al Saleh has met the Australian Defence Minister Christopher Payne in the presence of Saudi Military Attache in Australia and New Zealand, Marine Colonel Sami Fahad Al-Mutairi.

During the meeting they discussed discussed bilateral relations between the two nations and ways of developing them in the interests of both sides.