The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington D.C. (saudiembassy.net) has developed a comprehensive website in an attempt to introduce the Kingdom and its people to the English-speaking world. Saudiembassy.net makes use of a wide range of multimedia resources to enable a broad overview of the Kingdom.
Video and audio offerings supplement more traditional text and graphics. For those who know little about the Kingdom, the website provides a one-stop location to quickly learn the basics. Individuals planning a trip to Saudi Arabia will find visa applications and other consular information to download.
Saudiembassy.net has also become a location to find news about the Kingdom and essays, reports and interviews reflecting the Saudi government’s views on the challenges it has been facing in recent years. The Issues Section presents information on topics including the War on Terrorism, Foreign Relations, Reform and Human Rights. The news section lists more than 70 stories from 2004 about the Saudi War on Terrorism. Other Saudi news stories are not neglected, with topics such as Economy, Islam, Haj, the Arab world and Health, among the 20 categories covered.
Of particular note at the site is an archived webcast of the joint Saudi-US press conference held on June 2, 2004 in Washington, D.C. to report on developments in the War on Terrorism in regard to Saudi charities. There is also a complete transcript of that press conference available as well as an update on Saudi Arabia’s progress in the War on Terrorism in the form of a fact sheet. This document covers all aspects of what the Kingdom has done as of June 2004 to pursue terrorists and prevent terrorist financing. The fact sheet includes specific cases, examples of international cooperation and actions taken in the financial area.