RIYADH: Riyadh Mayor Prince Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ayaf Al-Muqren gave awards Sunday night to 29 Saudi retirees during the 3rd annual celebration and conference of the National Retirees Association (NRA) at the Prince Salman Social Center.
“Our retirees rendered invaluable services to the private and public sectors for many years, and I am privileged to give the awards to them on this occasion, which is their third annual anniversary. This is their night and I join them in their celebration,” Al-Muqren told Arab News.
The association boasts some half a million members although only about 300 were invited to attend the celebration.
Dr. Ali Al-Sultan, NRA executive director, expressed his happiness on the occasion since the retirees have the opportunity to meet each other again after a long time.
“I am happy indeed. Aside from the fact that the role the retirees played in society is being recognized, this is also a good opportunity for those who are members of the association to meet fellow retirees whom they have not met for the past two years,” said Al-Sultan, who retired after working 40 years as a civil servant.
Abdul Jabbar Al-Marzouq said as a retiree, he was pleased to recall how he started as a young man some 40 years ago. “Life then was difficult. All we could see was endless desert. Now, there are concrete roads and beautiful cars. The kids are in college with ease, unlike during our time,” he told fellow retirees.
