RIYADH, 11 April 2006 — The Spanish resort city of Marbella has declared the late King Fahd “an adopted son” of the city following a proposal approved unanimously by Spanish officials.
“This prestigious proclamation on the part of the city recognizes the importance of the Saudi royals, particularly the late King Fahd, for Spain amid growing relations,” Manuel Cacho, a spokesman of the Spanish Foreign Ministry, said here yesterday.
Manuel said that some members of the Saudi royal family, which has a palace in the popular southern Spanish city, visit Marbella every year. The spokesman also stated the Spanish position on a range of regional issues including the Middle East peace process, Iran and Iraq, while giving an overview of the Saudi-Spanish relations here.
He said, “The Spanish stand on the peace process had been very clear.”
Madrid, he said, supported the peace initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He said that the visit of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia had helped greatly to boost links between the Kingdom and Spain, while it gave an opportunity to review the whole gamut of bilateral and regional issues. The royal couple ended their visit today and left for Spain. They were seen off at the Riyadh Air Base by Prince Salman, governor of Riyadh region, and Prince Saud Al-Faisal, minister of foreign affairs.
Referring to the Kingdom’s relations especially with Marbella, Spanish officials said, “Saudi Arabia’s financial donations to the city allowed it to build social housing and expand the Hospital de la Costa del Sol.” At Marbella’s town hall, Spanish councilors are working to install a plaque thanking the late King Fahd for his contributions to the city. The plaque will be erected at the avenue which already carries late King Fahd’s name, they said.
In reply to a question about initiatives being taken by Riyadh and Madrid to cooperate in new areas, the spokesman said, “Prince Saud’s visit will further boost relations as he will sign two more agreements during his trip to Spain next month.”
“The two countries also have great potential for cooperation in the tourism and culture sectors besides defense, commerce, technology, trade and investment,” said Spanish officials. On the commercial front, the two countries have strong ties with two-way trade exceeding $2.8 billion last year. Moreover, investment relations will get a major boost because of the signing of an investment promotion and protection agreement.
