April 2, 2004

THE CROWN PRINCE ISSUES HIS DIRECTIVES TO TRANSFORM THE GIRLS' ACADEMIC COMPLEX IN RIYADH INTO A UNIVERSITY. PRINCE ABDULLAH IBN ABDUL AZIZ PATRONIZES THE FINAL FOOTBALL MATCH ON HIS CUP BETWEEN JEDDAH-BASED ITTIHAD AND AHLI TEAMS. PRINCE MOHAMMED IBN FAHD CALLS ON THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO INVEST IN THE MINING SECTOR. PRINCE MIQREN IBN ABDUL AZIZ LAUDS THE ROLE OF THE KINGDOM IN FIGHTING ILLITERACY. PRINCE KHALID IBN SULTAN PATRONIZES THE CONCLUSION OF "SEIF AL SALAM 5" MANEUVERS. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard patronized the inauguration ceremony of the Building of Girls College of Letters and the permission to start the second phase of Girls Colleges in Riyadh. At the venue, the Crown Prince was received by Minister of Education Dr. Mohammed Ibn Ahmed Al-Rasheed and a number of officials. A speech ceremony was held on this occasion. The Crown Prince issued his directive to transform the girls' colleges in Riyadh into a university, announcing that these colleges are named the Girls University in Riyadh City. The Crown Prince unveiled a memorial plaque to start the second phase of the university and laid the foundation stone. The ceremony was attended by Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General; Prince Miteb Ibn Abdul Aziz, Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs; a number of princes and officials. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard made the announcement while opening the College of Arts for Girls in the capital. He also laid the foundation stone for the second phase of the university project. Crown Prince Abdullah later saw models of academic buildings for the new university and toured the newly opened College of Arts. Dr. Abdullah Al-Hosayn, the Undersecretary for women's colleges, briefed Crown Prince Abdullah on their development over the past 35 years. The university will encompass the six colleges serving nearly 30,000 students in the women's college complex in Riyadh. They are the College of Arts, the College of Education (Science Section), the College of Education (Arts), the College for Home Science and Technical Education, the Teachers Training College, and the Social Services College. Education Minister Dr. Muhammad Al-Rasheed at the ceremony reviewed the history of girls' education in the Kingdom since its start in 1960, highlighting what he called the "tremendous progress" achieved in the last 40 years. There are 102 colleges for women under the Education Ministry, 16 of them offering postgraduate and doctoral degrees. Some 122,000 girls have been enrolled. There are more than 2.3 million girls in the Kingdom's 16,000 primary, intermediate and secondary schools. Dr. Al-Rasheed also announced plans to launch a long distance education program here next academic year. The project, based in Riyadh, has been awarded to a Saudi company. The first phase of the university project will cost SR300 million and will be completed early next year. The second phase includes construction of three additional colleges with a budget of SR150 million. Abdul Rahman Al-Ahmad, the deputy education minister for buildings and facilities, said several women's colleges were under construction in the Kingdom. "Two academic complexes are being built in Jeddah and Dammam," he said. New girls colleges are also under construction in Makkah, Madinah, Qasim, Hail, Al-Ahsa, Abha, Tabuk, Baha and Jizan. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz announced the launch of the first all female university in the Kingdom in Riyadh. In the name of Allah we announce these girls colleges a female university in Riyadh, Prince Abdullah said. Education Minister Mohammad Al-Rasheed praised the announcement as a further step towards strengthening women's education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Answering a question by the media, Al-Rasheed assured the female university was only a starting point. The newly launched university, according to Al-Rasheed, would be run under the administration of the Higher Education Ministry and would enjoy a budget of more than SR 450 million. Al-Rasheed also announced that two other academies had already been established in Jeddah and Dammam. In addition to that, further colleges would be launched in cities like Madina, Qassim, Hail and Hofuf. In 1989 the number of girls enrolled in the public school system was close to the number of boys: almost 1.2 million girls out of a total of 2.6 million students. Now there are 13,000 educational institutions and 102 colleges for girls, and female students today comprise more than half of all students enrolled at Saudi schools and universities. There are 2.3 million university students. On the other hand Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, patronized in Riyadh the final football match on his Cup between Jeddah-based Ittihad and Ahli teams. On this occasion, Prince Sultan Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the General President of Youth Welfare and President of Saudi Football Federation expressed his appreciation of the Crown Prince for this patronage, praising attention, encouragement and support provided to sports and youth sector by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard and Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General. Al-Ittihad won the Crown Prince's soccer cup after beating its Jeddah-rival Al-Ahli One/Nil, during the match held at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, attended the final match. Upon arrival at the venue, he was received by Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, Prince Sultan Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the President of Youth Welfare, Prince Nawaf Ibn Faisal Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy President of Youth Welfare, and a number of officials. Following the match, Crown Prince Abdullah gave away the trophy to the winning team and silver medals to the second-ranking. Hamza Idris headed the match's sole goal from a first half free-kick. Al-Ittihad created history when they won the Crown Prince Cup for the seventh time by beating Al-Ahli 1-0 in the final played in Riyadh. Both teams being from Jeddah, its streets were deserted during the 120 minutes of the match. Along the Corniche the scene was different with Ittihad supporters seen with prayer beads in their hands. There were others who looked worried as the match progressed in the capital. In the first half, both teams were careful trying to test each other's defense and tactics. A golden chance was available for Ahli to score in the third minute of the game when Talal Al-Mishaal received a pass from Saheb Al-Abdullah and came face to face with Ittihad player Mabrook Zayed. He kicked the ball into the goalkeeper's hands. That meant a big setback for Ahli. Zayed saved the goal and instantly became the star of the match. Ahli lost its very important player in the 11th minute when its coach was forced to substitute Muhammad Shaliya because of an injury. In the 18th minute, Hussein Abdul Ghani launched a big strike but that went a few inches above the Ittihad bar. Ahli's Ali Al-Abdali came on the scene four minutes later. In the 22nd minute he made a dangerous move inside the box, but the ball found no takers and was cleared by Ittihad defense. Ittihad responded in the 30th minute when a move from Brazilian Chico found a Reda Tukar header going close to the right side of the Ahli goalpost. The score was goalless at the breather. In the second half, Ittihad became more organized and looked determined to end the match without the play stretching to extra time. In the 57th minute, Ahli could have taken a lead when Talal Al-Mishaal took the ball from Ittihad defenders and sent a cross inside the Ittihad box, but the ball was cleared before Kim could convert it into a goal. Ittihad responded in the next minute and got the lead when Egyptian professional Islam Al-Shater sent a cross inside the Ahli box to the unguarded Ittihad attacker Hamza Idris. Idris had no difficulty in heading the ball into the goal. Ahli defenders were responsible for conceding the goal. Ahli pushed forward realizing that a goal down meant losing the trophy for the second year in a row. They had lost to Hilal 1-0 in the 64th minute in this tournament last year. Ahli attacker Kim struck hard from a foul outside the box but the ball was taken by custodian Mabrook Zayed. Ahli lost the services of Hussein Abdul Ghani because of an injury. It was looking for the equalizer but there was hardly any time left. On another scale investors in the mining industry in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recorded a $3 billion profit for the year 2003. Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Minerals Sultan Al-Shawli told the Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper that investors produced 206 tons of ores. Revenues reached SR12 billion and the number of mining permits issued hit 1,100. The total amount of investment in the mining sector in the kingdom exceeds SR25 billion. Meanwhile the privatization of the minerals sector will come in phases starting with mining, according to Ali Al-Naimi, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. He was speaking at the conference on investment in the sector organized by the Eastern Province's Chamber of Commerce &Industry. Al-Naimi said all current projects should be completed first. "Only then will the privatization process begin," he said. The Eastern Province is rich in mineral resources other than Petroleum. "Of the total licenses issued, 16 percent or 176 were in the Eastern Province, with a total investment of nearly SR1.5 billion," In the foreseeable future, production of several minerals here will exceed domestic requirements, he said." Exports would be one area where the private sector can step in." New mining laws are awaiting Cabinet approval. "Once the new laws are approved, future strategy will be decided," Al-Naimi said. Saudi Arabia's mining reserves are considerable. The Jalamid region alone has phosphate reserves of 313 million tons with a national total of 3.1 billion tons. The Kingdom also has vast manganese, iron, nickel, titanium, silica and calcium carbonate reserves. Al-Naimi said that the rapid fluctuation in oil prices was coming to an end and prices were stabilizing. Earlier, Prince Mohammad Ibn Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz, the Governor of the Eastern Province who opened the conference, called on the private sector to invest in the mining sector. He also appealed to foreign investors to explore joint ventures in the sector. The Eastern Province is rich in mineral resources other than Petroleum. "Of the total licenses issued, 16 percent or 176 were in the Eastern Province, with a total investment of nearly SR1.5 billion," During the question-and-answer session Al-Naimi also said the rapid fluctuation in oil prices was coming to an end and prices were stabilizing. He said there were no moves on the part of OPEC to change its target price of $22 to SR28 due to the weak dollar. The price for crude oil was not preconceived nor was it dictated by one or two countries. Instead it was decided based on the prevailing market situation. On the other hand Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali I. Al-Naimi announced the opening of development in the Kingdom's phosphate fertilizer industry to international investors. The Saudi Arabian Mining Company Maaden has been issued the license to develop the Kingdom's huge deposit of phosphate fertilizer in the northern region of the country, and therefore foreign investors are now welcomed to join us in this venture, Al-Naimi told The Saudi Gazette. The Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ma'aden, delivered the keynote address during the opening of the Mineral Resources Conference and Exhibition, inaugurated by Prince Muhammad Ibn Fahd, Governor of the Eastern Province. The Kingdom's phosphate deposit, one of the world s largest reserves to be exploited, is located within the Turayf Group region north of the country and includes the Um Wu'al, Mira, and Al-Jalamid formations. An initial estimate of phosphate rock has been placed at over 7,000 million tons. Exploration of the areas has already started; formal invitations to foreign companies to partner with us will be announced soon, Al-Naimi said. The phosphate fertilizer project is the most ambitious project of Ma aden and would require capital investment equivalent to three-fourths of the company s capital outlay during the next decade. It is expected to be on stream within seven years to export some three million tons of di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) fertilizer annually. Some 1,500 jobs for Saudis would also be created. Foreign companies are encouraged to establish joint ventures with local partners in establishing downstream fertilizer for the global market. The most feasible and suitable site of fertilizer downstream ventures would be the Jubail Industrial City, where utility infrastructures are also well positioned and readily available raw materials, like sulphur and natural gas, are in abundance. A number of downstream plants, including four sulphuric acid plants, three phosphoric acid plants, and three DAP plants, would be required to produce the annual output of three million tons of DAP fertilizer. Estimated cost of the whole phosphate fertilizer ventures is around US$ 2.5 billion, including US$ 400 million to develop the mines and US$ 1.2 billion to build the railway systems that would transport phosphate from the mine sites in Al-Jalamid, the first area to be developed, to Jubail Industrial City. The phosphate fertilizer to be produced from the joint ventures will boost the Kingdom non-oil exports, Al-Naimi said. It would also make the Kingdom the world s third largest producer of phosphate fertilizer. On the other had in Al Madinah Al Munawarrah Prince Muqrin Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of the Al Madinah region and Chairman of the Higher Commission for the Project of "Al Madinah Without Illiteracy" has praised the project being implemented by the Ministry of Education in Al Madinah to fight illiteracy. In message written in a brochure issued by the department of education and Al Madinah region the Prince said the Kingdom has received international recognition for its efforts to combat illiteracy and spread education. He added that the success of the project depends on the cooperation and work of all areas so that illiteracy could be tackled in the city of the Prophet Peace Be Upon Him. Al Madinah is the first city that has implemented this project as part of the strategy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make the Kingdom free of Illiteracy by the year 2014. The program started with the collaboration of the international agencies such as the Islamic Education Science and Culture Organisation ISESCO, the UNESCO, ALECSO, the International Bank for Developmet IDB and the Gulf programme for the support of the UN developmental organizations. The program started this year with a large campaign and Dr Bahjat Ibn Mahmoud Junaid Chairman of the program's executive committee said since decades ago the Kingdom started the call for combating illiteracy. The true wealth of any nation is its people, for it is their ability to manage the country's existing resources and to identify and develop new ones which determines the prosperity of the economy and the health of society for present and future generations. Mindful of the need to ensure that the Kingdom's population should be equal to the challenges of the developmental process, the government has devoted vast resources to a program covering primary, secondary and higher levels of education. All the Kingdom's Development Plans have taken into account the educational aspirations of the Saudi people, providing free education to all. The educational system has been continuously and systematically expanded to accommodate the ever-growing demand for educational services. Through this investment, the Kingdom has been able to guarantee equality of opportunity for all and to ensure that the Kingdom's need for an educated and trained national workforce to carry forward the Kingdom's future development can be fulfilled. When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded in 1932, the opportunities for education were not widely available, being limited in the main to religious and basic literacy teaching in mosques. In the 1930s, King Abdul Aziz initiated a program of formal primary education in the Kingdom. This program was given added impetus in 1949-1950 (1369-1370 AH) with the personal support of the then Prince Faisal and the encouragement of Prince Fahd bin Abdul Aziz - who later became Minister of Education and President of the Saudi Higher Council of Education, the highest educational authority in the Kingdom, and is now the King. The Ministry of Education, with the then Prince Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz at its head, was founded in 1954. Of all the challenges facing the Kingdom in its social and economic development, there can be no doubt that the need to create a pool of highly educated Saudi Arabian citizens, capable of managing a complex modern economy, has been paramount. It is in this context that the Kingdom's massive expenditure on education at all levels, but particularly at the higher level, must be seen. Clearly, the implementation of the development plans necessitated the assistance of tens of thousands of expatriate managers, scientists, engineers and teachers. But, while the development program was pursued with their help, the Kingdom allocated resources to ensure that, as soon as reasonably possible, its own citizens should be able to assume full responsibility for their own future. On the other hand the Minister of Education Dr. Mohammed Ibn Ahmed Al-Rasheed stressed that the educational institutions in the Arab world are facing vital challenges that should be addressed by continual amendment and development of Arab institutes and universities. In his speech at the Arab Education Gathering, he noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has nearly 30,000 schools and the percentage of those joining the primary education is 97.5. He added that greater attention has been paid to the quality in education. Dr. Al-Rasheed stressed on the introduction of technology and training in education. On the other hand Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, arrived In Hafr Al Baten. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan was accompanied by Chief of General Staff General Salih Ibn Ali Al-Mohayya. At the Airport of King Khalid Military City, he was received by a number of military officials. Prince Khalid left King Abdul Aziz Air-Base in Dhahran. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, arrived in Riyadh coming from Hafr Al-Baten in the Northern Region. At Riyadh Airbase Airport, he was received by Prince Abdullah Ibn Khalid Ibn Sultan and a number of officers. Earlier in the day, Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan paid a visit to a detachment of the air forces in Hafr Al-Baten. He was accompanied by Chief of General Staff General Salih Ibn Ali Al-Mohayya and commanders of branches of the armed forces. Addressing the detachment, Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan expressed his appreciation of the potentialities of the armed forces that demonstrate the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard and Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General on upgrading the level of the armed forces notably the air forces. In Riyadh Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, received the Commander of Central Command of U.S. Air Forces Lieutenant General Walter E. Buchanan and his accompanying delegation. During the meeting, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed issues of common interest. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz has also paid a visit to the Khalid Ibn Al Walid 12 th Brigade, which is taking part in the maneuvers of Seif Al Salam 5. He was received at the venue by Staff Major General Ashk Al Otaibi. Upon arrival he listened to a brief on the duties of the brigade , then Prince Khalid was welcomed by the members of the staff taking part in the maneuvers. Prince Khalid then visited the Brigade of King Abdul Aziz where he was received by Staff Major General Mohammed Ibn Abdul Rahman Al Wabel, and was briefed by the Commander of the Brigade. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, then patronized the conclusion of the activities of Seif AL Salam 5 maneuvers in the Northern region were he was received by the Commander of the joint operation in the Northern region. F15 fighters and Tornados took part in the maneuvers. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan then made a statement in which he praise the brigades and on the occasion greeted the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the Higher Commander of the Armed Forces, Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard as well as Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General for the care given to the Armed Forces. Prince Khalid said the maneuvers are one of the largest in which 100 thousand officers and soldiers took part along with more than 5 thousand military vehicle. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan then visited the field hospital where he was received by Staff Major General Abboud Ibn Nafie Al Harbi and Major General Dr Kutab Ibn Eid Al Otaibi. The Prince was briefed on the hospital made a tour and visited the patients receiving treatment. Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, attended the ceremony organized by the Northern region in his honour.