الشريعة .. و الحياة : فرانكفورت تشهد إنتصارا للإسلام و للدبلوماسية السعودية

شهدت مدينة فرانكفورت الألمانية مؤتمر يهدف لى تقريب الجسر و وصل القنطرة بين الإسلام و الغرب ضمته مكتبة فرانكفورت العامة .. و لقد سعدت أن أكون واحد ممن دعوا إلى هذا المؤتمر الذي ضم عددا من الشخصيات الألمانية البارزة و لفيف من الدبلوماسيين و الإعلاميين العرب و لقد تركزت الكلمة التي ألقيتها حول المملكة العربية السعودية و دورها المحوري في التعامل مع القضايا الإسلامية و العربية لكونها القلب النابض في المنطقة ثم تعرضت لللإستثمار في المملكة و معدلات النمو التي شهدتها المملكة في العشر سنوات الأخيرة و تطرقت إلى العلاقات السعودية الألمانية و موقف السعودية من قضية الإرهاب و هذا جزء مما جاء في الكلمة التي سوف تنشره مجلة الدبلوماسي في عددها القادم بإذن الله و كذلك أرفقت بعض الصور التي ألتقطت أثناء انعقاد المؤتمر. .

Ladies and Gentlemen I am delighted to be here to present my personal views on the subject of Saudi-German relationships and the West as a partners to us Wherever I go, I am encouraged by the interest taken in Saudi Arabia. Of course, I am biased, but I believe the interest is justified.

And while I have been listening to German students voice their questions and concerns about relations between Germany and my country, I have also been listening to Saudi students who are here studying. There are now, in fact, more than 3.000 Saudi students in Germany Thanks to a reinvigorated Saudi government scholarship program, thousands of Saudis are now able to study abroad. The Kingdom, as you know, holds a unique position in the world. As home to the two Holy Mosques of Islam, we have natural religious responsibilities. Our stability, influence and geopolitical position make us a political leader in the Middle East. And our energy resources make us a nation of global economic significance as well....

The Kingdom, ladies and gentlemen, is open for business , and we are doing quite well.

The clearest sign is that the Saudi economy is currently booming; not just in the energy sector, but in many diversified industries. The World Bank even rates Saudi Arabia’s business environment as the best in the Middle East. In fact, there will be more than $650 billion in investment opportunities that will be generated in the Kingdom over the next 15 years in a number of fields, including information technology, developing the mining and tourism business, and further privatizing state-owned corporations , such as our airlines. We are creating centers of commerce and business, like the King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh. This $26 billion mega-project will be a next generation center of finance , healthcare , and technological development. This City is just one of four economic centers that are being created in the Kingdom and will serve as a center in Saudi Arabia for the private sector.

Saudi Arabia is against terrorism in all its forms and Manifestations . It was a victim of terror even before the events of the 11th September in the United States. There has been a campaign by some dubious agencies in recent years to link Saudi Arabia with terrorism by fabricating reports and concocting stories. Such allegations have been proved to be false and baseless. Numerous Saudi personalities and institutions have won the cases they filed before Western courts against different sections of the media including newspapers and magazines which carried stories accusing them of supporting or financing terror.

How can a victim of terror support or finance terrorism! It is just ridiculous! .

Saudi Arabia

does not approve of terms like “conflict of Civilizations ” and “clash of civilizations” or of the gloomy forecasts by prophets of doom. We cannot divide the world along ideological or religious lines. The consequences of such a division are very dangerous. Terrorism cannot and must not be linked to any particular religion or community.

We believe that the need of the hour is to build bridges of Understanding between the Muslim and the

Western worlds through meaningful dialogues and healthy exchange of ideas.

Their relationship should be based on mutual understanding and respect and not on dispute and confrontation. The long history of peaceful relationship and coexistence of the Muslims and the West serves as a worthy example. The need is to look into the real causes of frictions and sincerely work to eliminate the existing irritants, thus making this world a safer and happier abode for all mankind.

Thank you