RIYADH, 21 May 2006 — The establishment of the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue has attracted praise from the ambassador of the African country of Burkina Faso.

Omara Jawara, the ambassador of the African state, said the Center, which was established by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to underline his reform policy based on Shoura and democracy, was an excellent initiative.

Ambassador Jawara, who is also dean of the diplomatic corps in the Kingdom, said, "King Abdullah uses the center to maintain direct contact with various sections of the Saudi society with an aim of exchanging views and sharing their daily preoccupations."

He said here in the Kingdom moves such as these are not unprecedented, all of King Abdullah's predecessors followed the same policy of maintaining direct contacts with their peoples.

Ambassador Jawara expressed admiration for the unprecedented prosperity and stability enjoyed by the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the wise leadership of King Abdullah and added,"Muslims all over the world are grateful to the government and people of the Kingdom for the generous support they continue to provide."

He also expressed his deep gratitude to the government and people of Saudi Arabia for the generous hospitality extended to him since his arrival to the Kingdom and for the continued support of his country.

The ambassador noted that changing national and international conditions have called for widespread and serious exchanges of views among all concerned. He said that the authorities in the Kingdom were among the first to take note of the implications of these changing conditions and that the King Abdul Aziz Center for National Dialogue was established with the aim of encouraging a wide-ranging exchange of views among various sections of Saudi society.

The ambassador highlighted that since its establishment, the center has successfully dealt with a number of important issues including initiating the first forum on the important question of national unity, a national forum on the phenomenon of extremism and a third forum dealing with the rights of women, their role in society and problems relating to female education. All these exchanges of views were conducted in line with Islamic teachings. He also recalled that the National Forum, which was held in the Eastern Province of Dammam, focused attention to problems faced by young people throughout the country.

He said the establishment of the Center was followed by several new measures, which included the setting up of the first human rights association in the Kingdom and the first municipal elections in the history of the country which were held in different parts of the country last February and March.

When asked about the role Afro-Arab dialogue could play in forging working relationship between the Arab League and the African Union, Ambassador Jawara said ties between the two organizations were quite old and that presently there was an ever-growing strong need to revive those ties... The two are united by strong historical and cultural bonds and. And at present Africa receives its biggest support from the Arab world. Therefore the Arab League and the African Union should make greater efforts to further strengthen existing ties by boosting trade and economic exchanges between them.

Jawara said his country, Burkina Faso, maintains good friendly relations with the Kingdom which continues to provide it with a large amount of assistance. He added that in addition to responding to calls for help from his country during times of emergency the Kingdom continues to help with the building of infrastructures like dams, schools, health centers, roads and mosques. He said the Saudi Development Fund and the Islamic Bank for Development provide the bulk of the assistance Burkina Faso receives.

In conclusion, the ambassador said, “I would like to seize this opportunity to re-affirm here and now that as a close friend of Saudi Arabia, Burkina Faso will do everything in its power to further promote closer relations between the two countries with the aim of serving the best interests of the two friendly peoples.”