JEDDAH, 8 November 2004 — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, yesterday welcomed the re-election of US President George W. Bush and hoped that his administration would deal with Arab and Islamic issues with justice.
“We hope that the wisdom and experience of President Bush and those who work with him will give them a better impression of Arab and Islamic issues in order to address them with wisdom and justice,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted him as saying.
He was talking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the board of trustees of Prince Sultan Charitable Foundation in Makkah Saturday night.
On Wednesday, soon after Bush’s election victory, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah sent messages of congratulations to the president.
Speaking to reporters, Prince Sultan also said that Saudi Arabia would continue to support the Palestinian cause. “We have never abandoned the Palestinian people,” he said when asked about the Kingdom’s efforts to tackle the situation in Palestine after President Yasser Arafat became seriously ill.
He said the foundation would not hesitate to carry out charitable projects abroad. However, he pointed out that the charity’s humanitarian projects were now concentrated within Saudi Arabia.
He commended the government’s support to charitable activities in the Kingdom. “Charity societies are part and parcel of Saudi life and we hope to see an expansion in charitable projects with the support of businessmen,” he added.
He said a charitable fund has been established with a capital of SR25 million. “We have also established a company named Bab Al-Khair, which has been registered with the government. Its activities will start soon,” he added. Prince Sultan has donated SR5 million to a charitable fund for treating patients.
