July 23, 2004

PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ SECOND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, MINISTER OF DEFENCE AND AVIATION AND INSPECTOR GENERAL: THE CUSTODIAN OF TWO HOLY MOSQUES' VISIT ALLEVIATED MY PAINSAUDI ARABIA IS DETERMINED TO ROOT OUT TERRORISM. PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ TO AL RAJUL MAGAZINE: THE PERIOD I SPENT IN HOSPITAL LEFT ME WITH PROFOUND EMOTIONS. Mohammed Fahd Al-Harthi: Jeddah Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz since a very young age was always a charitable person. He is a philanthropist and a benevolent who gives with generosity. I pray God to help him achieve his aims and stand by him and his sons. This is how Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh region described his brother, and may be those words sum up some of the many things said about Prince Sultan. The Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Al- Saud Foundation crowns the many generous charities supported by Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, whose benevolence is acknowledged within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and around the world. With the motto "Helping People to Help Themselves," Prince Sultan announced in a meeting with the media after he saw the final design of the project that he dedicates all his properties except from his private home to the Foundation, adding that any additional income goes as well to the Foundation. As is known throughout the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz maintains a sincere interest in the care of a sector of citizens who are dearest to him. This group includes the sick, the elderly, the handicap and children in need of special care during early childhood. In order to provide a tangible and meaningful way of assisting these people, the Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Humanitarian City was established by Royal Decree on 15th September 1996. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, had undergone a successful operation at King Fahd Military Hospital. He received many visits from his brother Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, and this represents the strong bond in the Saudi house and society. Prince Sultan commented on this saying this is not strange, coming from a noble and magnanimous man, known for his strong Arab and Islamic qualities. The several visits paid by thousands of people to Prince Sultan at the hospital reflect the relations between different sections of the Saudi society. Prince Sultan said he was deeply touched by the feelings of love he received. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, reiterated that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is capable of uprooting the deviant group, and said 'the Kingdom is not worried about the vicious acts perpetrated by this deviant group'. In his interview with "Al-Rajul" magazine Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz talked frankly open heartedly. Q: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' visit to your Highness at the hospital had a special impact on the Saudi society as it showed the human side and the family bond of the Saudi Society, what do you say about this? A: We thank God the Almighty who bestowed Islam on us, and made us generous towards each others. Health is precious, I have spent a period that was not easy at the hospital, but seeing the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has alleviated my pain and I felt extreme happiness with his visit. What made me happier is the impact of this visit on my sons and all the sons of this faithful people. This visit shows the love between the people on all levels. I pray God to preserve him for his people and country. Q: The people have noticed the daily visits paid by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz to your Highness at the hospital, which embodies the strong and deep bond between both of you what is your comment? A: My elder brother His Royal Highness Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, has paid many visits, this is not strange, coming from a noble and magnanimous man, known for his strong Arab and Islamic qualities. Let me ask the question differently, and tell you about the treatment His Royal Highness offered me and what impact it had on my recovery. This reflects the feelings of brotherhood, nobleness and great love His Royal Highness has towards each one of us. Those visits after the visit of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques come from my faithful brother whose sincerity towards his King, country and people has no limits. The persistence of His Royal Highness to visit me despite all his occupations has taught me a lesson; Fahd and Abdullah are both the same, the sons of the same school established by our father King Abdul Aziz who taught us love, brotherhood, strength, respect, faithfulness, the love and care of the elder towards the younger and the faithfulness and respect of younger towards the elder. Q: The period you spent at the hospital reflects the cohesion between members of the Saudi society who were following the condition of your health and also who visited the hospital in huge numbers, what do feel about this? A: The period I spent at the hospital did not only reflect the cohesion but the image of fraternity. It left me with strong feelings of recognition and love. I do exchange with this good people their feelings of love and sincerity. Thank God, He bestowed on us these good feeling as we all live in a large family where each one is merciful towards the others. This is all due to our adherence to Islam and its rules. The Saudi society is one big family which includes the leaders and the people. My real happiness is the feelings of love and care I received from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince, Prince Bandar Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Mussaed Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Mishaal Ibn Abdul Aziz, and all King Abdul Aziz's sons, other princes, ministers, officials and citizens. They are all the sons of the Saudi people with all its values, ethics and sincerity. The visits, cables, messages, phone calls and congratulations made me feel that they were a blessing from God the Almighty, and I do thank God for that. Q: Many leaders and officials came to visit? A: My happiness with these visits has no limits. The visits, messages, telephone calls I received from my brothers, kings, princes and leaders of the GCC member states as well as my brothers, leaders from the Arab, Muslim and friendly countries have made me very happy. It made me feel that the world has become a small village. There is no doubt that these visits were to honour me and also in recognition of the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the world. I do address my thanks to all of them and pray God the Almighty to preserve them, preserve their countries and people. Q: In the last period Saudi citizens were shocked by the terrorist acts implemented by the deviating group against the citizens and the expatriates. This is strange in our society, what do you say about this? A: The citizens thank God are not shaken by these non-sense as they are faithful people and history proves that this is not new to us. Along 1425 years, we have faced events coming from a group of deviants. Islamic history as well as the history of the world is full of those deviant people who appear from time to time. Thank God they are abolished. We are not worried about what is happening and we do not have the slightest doubt that we will abolish them. This country will always be a country in which security prevails. Since the era of the founder king God Bless His Soul we have been a place of livelihood for Muslims and non-Muslims and under the directives of the entrusted Crown Prince we follow the rules of our religion and the teachings of our Prophet Peace Be Upon Him on how to treat those who come to live amongst us. Prince Sultan noted that the amnesty period announced by the state reflects the wisdom of the Saudi officials. 'It is hoped that the deviant group will benefit from the amnesty announced by the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz and positively respond with it', Prince Sultan said. Prince Sultan Biography His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud is Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prince Sultan was born in Riyadh in 1928, and received his early education in religion, modern culture and diplomacy along with his brothers at the royal court. Prince Sultan was appointed Governor of Riyadh in 1947. Much of his time, however, was taken up in assisting his father in the setting up of a national administrative system based on justice and the implementation of Islamic Shariah law. When the Council of Ministers was formed in 1953, Prince Sultan became the Kingdom's first Minister of Agriculture. In that capacity he helped set up a project for resettling nomadic tribes. Two years later, he became Minister of Communications, and contributed greatly to the development of the Kingdom's roads and telecommunications network. Prince Sultan supervised the construction of the only railway system on the Arabian Peninsula, connecting Dammam with Riyadh; he is currently Chairman of the Saudi Arabian Government Railways Organization. Prince Sultan was appointed Minister of Defense and Aviation in 1963. Since that time he has helped establish the modern Saudi Arabian armed forces, including land, air, naval and air defense forces. He has presided over the construction of military cities throughout the Kingdom. In addition, Prince Sultan is Chairman of the Board of the Kingdom's national airline, renamed 'Saudi Arabian Airlines' in 1996. On the succession of King Fahd in 1982, Prince Sultan was named Second Deputy Prime Minister. Prince Sultan also serves as Chairman of the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD), an organization which he founded in 1986 to promote the protection of the nation's indigenous wildlife. In addition, Prince Sultan is Chairman of the Higher Council for Islamic Affairs, a recently-formed organization dedicated to the service of Muslims and Muslim minorities throughout the world. Another recent organization is the Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz Charity Foundation , which was established in 1995 to provide social services and health care for the elderly and comprehensive rehabilitation programs for the disabled. Prince Sultan has chaired, or currently chairs, various committees, including the Supreme Committee for Education Policy, Council of Manpower, Ministerial Committee on Environment, Board of the General Enterprise of Military Industries and the Higher Committee of the Offset Program. On the international front, Prince Sultan has conducted a number of official visits to Arab and other Muslim countries, and to many other countries around the world. He led the Saudi delegation to the 40th session of the United Nations General Assembly in 1985, and also to the 50th anniversary in 1995.