DAMMAM, 25 May 2008 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday emphasized the importance of higher education in boosting the Kingdom’s development. He pledged the government’s full support to Saudi universities.
“We look at higher education as one of the basic pillars for achieving development and improving the capabilities of our youth and preparing them for the future,” the king wrote in the visitors’ register at King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran.
King Abdullah was all praise for KFUPM for its production of a well qualified and trained national cadre required for the country’s development process. “It has attained an academic reputation in scientific research and higher education,” he added.
King Abdullah, who launched KFUPM’s strategic initiatives and its development projects, said: “It gives me immense pleasure when I see the university’s development programs as knowledge and scientific research have no limits.”
The king added: “We are determined to provide all the requirements of KFUPM and other universities in the country in order to enable them to carry out their mission in the areas of promoting science and research.”
King Abdullah stressed that higher education in the Kingdom should focus on domestic requirements while maintaining openness toward modern developments.
KFUPM’s initiatives include the university’s strategic plan, an international advisory board, an endowment fund to support research and academic programs, the Dhahran Technopark, an electronic university system and advanced research centers.
King Abdullah, who concluded his weeklong tour of the Eastern Province yesterday, laid the foundation stone for the second phase of KFUPM’s campus project. The first phase, which was completed at a cost of SR340 million, comprised classrooms, a student hostel and staff accommodation.
Work on the second phase of the campus will start soon at a cost of SR400 million. King Abdullah laid the foundation stone for the second, third and fourth phases so that work could begin on the new phases. The king also honored businessmen and companies that supported the university’s academic and research programs.
Earlier on arrival at the university, the king was greeted by Eastern Province Gov. Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd, his deputy Prince Jalawi ibn Abdul Aziz ibn Musaed, Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari and KFUPM’s President Dr. Khaled Al-Sultan.
Al-Sultan commended King Abdullah’s contributions to the Kingdom’s educational advancement. In this respect he referred to the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Thuwal, near Jeddah, and the King Saud University of Health Sciences in Riyadh.
The Kingdom’s national budget allocates about SR100 billion to educational and manpower training projects every year, thus it is one of the world’s largest investors in education. The government has also established new universities in all the Kingdom’s regions.
King Abdullah later watched a presentation of KFUPM’s strategic initiatives as well as the third and fourth phases of its new campus project that includes aviation engineering workshops, infrastructure for Dhahran Technopark and a center for innovations. Before leaving for Jeddah at the conclusion of his tour, King Abdullah visited King Faisal University in Dammam, where he laid the foundation for its new university campus project and a university hospital project. He also visited an exhibition held at the university.
King Abdullah also launched an electronic system named after him that will link all Saudi educational attaches with the Ministry of Higher Education. He also honored the financial supporters of the university’s scientific chairs.
