According to the Islamic calendar, he received the pledge of allegiance on Jamad Al-Thani 26, 1426, which corresponds to Aug. 1, 2005.

These five years have been significant in many ways. There was an incessant talk of reform; newspapers were full of new universities being opened or foundation stones being laid; and new economic cities created quite a buzz. Saudi Arabia acquired a new respect among nations of the world for its just and sagacious role. King Abdullah’s interfaith initiative was welcomed by the world community and still is seen as a ray of hope by much of the global community. He remains very popular among his people, and his initiatives hold the prospect of a bright future for the Kingdom.

King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) Rector Dr. Khaled S. Al-Sultan said there has been comprehensive improvement in the field of higher education in these five years.

“More than SR136 billion was allocated for education, higher education and training,” said Al-Sultan. “The number of universities increased to 24 in addition to many private universities and colleges.”

He highlighted the launching of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Program for Foreign Scholarships and the establishment of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Well-known Eastern Province businessman Salman Al-Jishi said it was hard to list one single achievement as the most significant.

“It is difficult to list them all,” he said. “King Abdullah's stress on education, his efforts to extend the hand of friendship to the outside world through the interfaith initiative, the establishment of the National Dialogue Forum, setting up of the science and technology university in Jeddah, the opening up of the media — all these are remarkable achievements. He is first and foremost a sincere person. You can’t help but be impressed by his way of thinking, his way of dealing with his people, his way of caring and sharing … He has a clear vision of where he wants to see our country.”

Al-Jishi said the huge investment in education reflected his deep and abiding belief in the Kingdom’s next generation. “These allocations are not just toward the building of infrastructure but the development of the human being,” he said. “The number of scholarships for Saudi students to learn abroad is also part of this effort to equip the new generation with the tools of the future.”

Al-Jishi agreed that the opening of the media and its capacity to listen to all kinds of voices stemmed from the king’s key initiatives.

Writer and researcher Abdullah Al-Alami said the most significant developments in the past five years have been the social, economic and administrative reforms the king introduced on Feb. 14, 2009. “King Abdullah’s policies played an important role in developing education in the country,” he said.

According to Al-Alami, who is a dedicated watcher of Saudi media, there have been slow but noticeable changes in reporting and analyzing the news on local radio and television. “However, local press has not moved forward although King Abdullah invited intellectuals to provide their points of view freely and with little restriction,” he said, noting that the minister of culture and information has been instrumental in implementing the king’s plans to reform the local media so that it would reflect the message of peace, tolerance and moderation.

Al-Alami also shared his view of the Saudi public’s response to the many changes and reforms. “Please remember that King Abdullah was assisting the late King Fahd before he actually took over,” Al-Alami said. “As such, people were ready for the changes when he formally took over. In certain areas, the king has exceeded people’s expectations.”

Despite all the changes, to those outside Saudi Arabia, the pace of change in the Kingdom seems glacial, but King Abdullah has made change a constant within the Kingdom. “With everything being relative, the outside world may not realize the extent of the pace of change in the Kingdom,” Al-Alami said. “There is no doubt that we still have a long way to go — especially in the areas of human rights, judicial standards and women’s participation.”