The following is a congratulatory message from Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Korea Ahmad Y. Al Barrak celebrating the kingdom’s 84th National Day on Sept. 23. ― Ed.


The national day anniversary of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comes at a time when the comprehensive development renaissance, the foundations of which were laid by the kingdom’s founder King Abdulaziz Al Saud, is continuing apace. Building on the intellectual, institutional and management foundations laid by the founding king, and guided by his ideas and practices in development planning and economic management, his sons and successors have continued the efforts, which have resulted in remarkable achievements and successes, reflected in the continued rise of living standards, improvement in the quality of life, comprehensive construction and industrial renaissance, and advanced economic and social services throughout the country. 

These achievements are eloquent testimony to the effectiveness of the developmental approach that has been adopted by the kingdom, an approach that combines scientific planning, targeted rationalization, and continued support for the private sector within the framework of economic freedom and individual initiative.

Over more than three decades, structural and socioeconomic advances have been achieved, at both the macro and sectorial levels. The Saudi economy has gained enormous strength, increasing its ability to adapt to changes and developments and withstand global economic fluctuations.

At the macroeconomic level, the GDP has greatly increased. The steady growth has been accompanied by expanded use of advanced production technologies in many of the activities of the national economy, as well as by diversification of the economic structure and maximization of the role of the private sector. Successive development plans have created a climate that is conducive to the Saudi private sector, contributing increasingly to production, investment, export and provision of employment opportunities for citizens. In this positive environment, the private sector, characterized by vitality and institutions with advanced technical and organizational abilities, has grown. Employing these capabilities efficiently, the private sector has made praiseworthy achievements.

Over the past years, the kingdom has taken several important institutional and administrative development measures. These have included creating new economic entities and restructuring others; accelerating the pace of privatization; and adopting several sets of regulations aimed at controlling various aspects of economic activities, improving their efficiency, providing more incentives and guarantees to foreign investors, and simplifying and speeding up the administrative procedures relating to their activities.

Institutional and administrative modernization, development of regulations and facilitation of procedures have led to a significant improvement in the business environment and to the attractiveness of the kingdom for foreign direct investments. The volume of foreign direct investment has increased markedly, so much so that the kingdom has come to be at the forefront in the Middle East in this regard.

Considering the Saudi citizen to be the focus and the ultimate goal of development, the government of Saudi Arabia has accorded special importance to human resource development. As a result, the education system has grown remarkably to an unprecedented level. Similarly, higher education has achieved notable quantitative and qualitative progress. Concurrently, efforts have continued to develop programs, raise quality, and intensify scientific and technological research in the universities. Equally important has been the advances made in training. Similar achievements have been made by the private sector.

Interest in the field of healthcare has also been keen. Hospitals, primary health care centers and supportive healthcare services have expanded significantly, resulting in access to preventive and curative health services throughout the country.

Remarkably, when the development process of the kingdom is examined, similarities in some important aspects between its beginnings, in the reign of the founding king, and the realities of the moment become evident. The founding king adopted modern methods for developing agriculture and water resources, as well as for the management of oil exploration, building transportation and communication networks, provision of educational services and health care, and building the institutions of the state, utilizing expertise at home and abroad. Following in the footsteps of the founding king, the kingdom seeks to expand the use of science and technology in all productive and service fields.

The kingdom is also keen on transfers of knowledge and advanced technology, through foreign trade and foreign direct investment, as well as on seeking the help of experts and specialists from various advanced countries, and on increasing the numbers of people sent on scholarships abroad to acquire modern knowledge and expertise. In furtherance of this trend, the kingdom has made great strides and has begun to move towards carrying out megaprojects, in its quest to lay the foundations of a knowledge economy and an information society. Thus, following a tradition of looking to the future set by the founding king, his worthy sons are using development planning as an effective means for building the socioeconomic future of the kingdom on a sound, scientific basis.

I would also like to acknowledge the important diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea. These relations have been built from the start on mutual respect and the understanding of common strategic interests. The seeds of cooperation were planted more than 50 years ago in 1962, when the two countries established diplomatic relations. Since that year, the two countries have worked closely together to expand relations through a variety of political, cultural and economic channels as well as cooperation and coordination in various areas and at all levels.

Saudi-Korea bilateral relations in the early stages witnessed a number of achievements, with the participation of Korean experts and manpower in the kingdom to modernize its infrastructure, mainly with the implementation of industrial projects involving roads, public buildings, water desalination, power generation, information technology and many others. This was, indeed, quite enough to make Korea more qualified ― thanks to its companies, experts, and well-trained manpower ― and thereby to win a significant share of large-scale projects carried out in the kingdom. It also paved the way for more deals between the two countries to carry out such projects, based on the needs of the kingdom and the requirements of its development.

Those who review the economies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea, and each country’s potential as well as their status in the global economic system will not find themselves surprised by the solid Saudi-Korea partnership over the last 50 years; their capability to create a productive environment; and how they became members of the G20 and joined the ranks of the economically richest countries in the world. The friendship between the two countries, their similar policies and their opportunities for integration enabled both governments to draw a road map of their bilateral relations with specifications appropriate for both sides, and to help upgrade the distinguished partnership by enhancing the yearly added value of such a relationship.

A number of agreements and committees ― mainly, the Saudi-Korea Joint Committee ― that connect both countries have helped the two build a genuine partnership that does not exclude any activity, so that the bilateral cooperation is comprehensive and responsive to the interests of the peoples of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.

Their bilateral relations in the political domain have also witnessed similarities regarding their positions towards global issues and developments over the last half century.

In the field of trade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major trading partners of the Republic of Korea. The kingdom is the fourth-largest trading partner to the Republic of Korea, while Korea is the Saudi’s fifth-largest one. There are many joint projects between the two countries and bilateral trade volume has increased over the last four years to reach $47 billion in 2013 and $23 billion in the first six months of 2014. Such extensive growth in trade relations has been attributed to the complementary elements between the two countries.

Notably, both countries this year have made significant strides in the field of pharmaceuticals by signing memoranda of understandings for cooperation on the establishment of the Saudi-Korea Pharmaceutical Complex in Saudi Arabia. I believe that such MOUs between the two friendly countries will open up opportunities for both countries to further cooperate in the pharmaceutical field and introduce Korea’s superiority in this field in the Middle East region. 

Furthermore, relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have taken an important turn, thanks to the advantages of the Korean experience in the field of education. A number of Saudi students have been enrolled in prestigious Korean universities and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Seoul has been opened, as the first Arab, Islamic cultural office accredited to the Republic of Korea, to guide and follow up the Saudi students’ educational procedures. The number of Saudi students in Korean universities has now reached over 300. The bilateral cooperation in the field of education has extended to exchanges and cooperation between universities of both countries.

Finally, we ask God almighty to bless the efforts of the custodian of the two holy mosques and his crown prince to raise the status of the kingdom and ensure the happiness of its people.

By Ahmad Y. Al Barrak