RIYADH, 6 October 2004 — A higher council for foreign relations has been proposed as part of a comprehensive strategy to clean up the Kingdom’s image abroad.
The draft recommendation emerged from the concluding session of the international conference on “The Image of Saudi Arabia in the World.”
Dr. Osman M.A. Al-Arabi, a member of the Saudi Association for Media & Communication, told Arab News that one of the draft recommendations calls for enlisting the support of Saudi students in Western countries as part of the campaign to counter hostile propaganda.
In support, Dr. Essam Khalil, proposed the setting up of an early warning system on the media front to keep the Saudi authorities updated on developing crises with implications for the Kingdom and thus nip a crisis in the bud as part of a damage control exercise.
Dr. Al-Arabi said there was also support for the idea that the Kingdom should strengthen its relations with Japan, China and India while trying to mend its relations with the West.
A spokesman for the Japanese Embassy told Arab News that the Kingdom would organize a week-long exhibition in Tokyo next year to promote a better understanding between the two countries.
The holding of a cultural expo helps publicize the Kingdom in the Far East where very little was known about Saudi Arabia beyond trade interests.
Dr. Al-Arabi also drove home this point when he said that the Saudis were better informed about Japan and South Korea than vice-versa. He said the proposed higher council for foreign relations would formulate a strategy to steer the Kingdom out of hostile propaganda.
This required both a proactive damage-control exercise and a preemptive public relations strike. The concept of an early warning system mooted at the conference would act as an antenna warning the Kingdom of changes in the political climate.
Dr. Al-Arabi said the private sector should promote a better understanding of Saudi culture and a member of the private sector would be co-opted onto the proposed higher council.
Dr. Ibtihaj Naqshbandi, the lone female participant, agreed. She said the members of the business community should fund a media campaign to spruce up the Kingdom’s image abroad.
Welcoming the event, British Ambassador Sherard Cowper-Coles said the suggestions calling for reforms was noteworthy. He said Turkey was doing the same as part of its bid for accession to the EU.
The need to rebuild ties with the West was a recurring theme of event. Dr. Mohammed Al-Hawari, Egyptian scholar, Elizabeth Hall, one of the participants from the US, and Belgian Ambassador Rudi Schellinck emphasized that the Kingdom should reach out to those American Jews and Christians who are willing to espouse its cause.
Dr. Al-Hawari said the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) had compiled a list of Jews who are deemed to be supporters of intifada or have otherwise contributed significantly for the cause of Islam. They were being ostracized for their support to the Palestinians.
Dr. Al-Hawari was amplifying an earlier statement by Elizabeth Hall who said there was no dearth of moderate Jews and Christians sympathetic to the Palestinians and appreciative of Islam. She said it was time to mobilize the support of these elements in order to forge a united front against the orchestrated campaign against the Kingdom.
