Crown prince to Saudis: I’m one of you

Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, has highlighted the role of Saudis in the Kingdom’s history and development and urged them to stand united. “This country of yours is from you and you are from it,” he said.
Addressing a ceremony in Riyadh on Tuesday night after receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award for Built Heritage, Prince Salman said: “This state was formed from the soil all over this nation.”
The crown prince said he attended the ceremony as “one of you and I feel what you feel.” He said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is enjoying good health and he thanked Saudis for their good feelings toward their king.
The ceremony was held at Murabba Palace. “This was the house of King Abdul Aziz. When we were children we lived here,” he said, adding that it was the starting point of the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The crown prince received the award from Prince Mohammed bin Saad, deputy governor of Riyadh and Prince Sultan bin Salman, president of SCTA.
On his arrival at the venue, the crown prince was received by Prince Mohammed bin Saad and Prince Sultan.
The crown prince then toured an exhibition held on the sidelines of the ceremony, under the title “Salman bin Abdulaziz: Achievements in the Domain of Urban Heritage.”
Prince Sultan thanked the crown prince for receiving the award. The lifetime award is given by Thurath charitable society every three years to outstanding personalities for their contributions to built heritage, following certain criteria.
“Prince Salman was given the award considering his contributions to develop Riyadh and preserve its built heritage when he was the region’s governor,” the SCTA chief said.
“What Prince Salman said during the ceremony about King Abdullah and the built heritage is significant. The built heritage reflects the Kingdom’s history and efforts made by King Abdul Aziz to unify the country,” said Prince Sultan after the ceremony.
Prince Sultan said young Saudi men and women could learn a lot about the Kingdom’s history from its built heritage. “Our youngsters should know that our Kingdom was established after big struggles,” he added.
Meanwhile, Riyadh Mayor Abdullah Al-Muqbil presented a book published by the mayoralty on the occasion, highlighting the crown prince’s contributions for the city’s development.
Meanwhile, the National Architectural Heritage Center of SCTA and the Faculty of Tourism and Antiquities of King Saud University signed here yesterday a cooperation agreement in the field of management of architectural heritage.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Prince Sultan and KSU Rector Badran bin Abdul Rahman Al-Omar.
The agreement will strengthen cooperation between the two sides in the fields of survey, documentation of architectural heritage sites and buildings and registering them in the commission's database of national digital records, training, scientific researches, exchanges of experiences and the organization of conferences and scientific seminars regarding architectural heritage and its development.