JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan yesterday congratulated US President-elect Barack Obama on his historic election victory, wishing him every success.
“On behalf of the people and government of Saudi Arabia and myself, I extend hearty congratulations to you and wish you every success,” the king said in a message to Obama.
King Abdullah reaffirmed the deep-rooted and historic relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States and the two countries’ efforts to achieve peace and justice as well as to reinforce security and stability in the Middle East and other parts of the world.
“We look forward to further strengthening our bilateral relations in all areas,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the king as saying. In a similar message, Prince Sultan also underscored the strong relations between the two countries.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah left Riyadh yesterday for Morocco on his way to New York to attend a special UN General Assembly session on interfaith dialogue, which is to take place on Nov. 12 and 13. He will also attend the G-20 economic summit in Washington on Nov. 15, a Royal Court statement said.
King Abdullah is accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Prince Muqrin, chief of intelligence, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi and Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf.
Saudi Arabia hopes the interfaith conference in New York, which comes at the initiative of King Abdullah, will stress on common human values and present solutions to problems facing the global family.
Speaking to SPA after the Cabinet meeting last Monday, Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Kingdom would present its views on global financial crisis during the G-20 economic summit in Washington.
Madani said the Cabinet meeting had emphasized the need to revise methods of monitoring international banks and restructuring global financial institutions.
