DALLAS, Texas, 26 April 2005 — Despite a light drizzle and cool temperatures, the meeting between Crown Prince Abdullah and US President George W. Bush yesterday at his Texas ranch radiated with the warmth of a reunion between two peoples who vowed to renew their ties with one another.
Both countries intend to increase the number of students, visitors and business travelers between the two nations, and the United States is pledging to advance Saudi Arabia’s entrance into the World Trade Organization.
“We welcome the renewed determination of Saudi Arabia to pursue economic reform and its quest to join the WTO. We’ll work together as partners to complete our negotiations and with other WTO members in Geneva with the aim of welcoming Saudi Arabia into the WTO before the end of 2005,” said a joint statement after the meeting.
The statement said the number of Saudi students going for higher studies to the US would increase.
“The US and Saudi Arabia agree that our future relations must rest on a foundation of broad cooperation. We must work to expand dialogue, understanding and interactions between our citizens. This will include programs designed to 1) increase the number of young Saudi students to travel and study in the US; 2) increase our military exchange programs so that more Saudi officers visit the US for military education and training; and 3) increase the number of Americans traveling to work and study in the Kingdom,” the statement said.
Washington also agreed to facilitate travel of Saudi businessmen and students to the US.
“The US recognizes we must exert great efforts to overcome obstacles facing Saudi businessmen and students who wish to enter the US, and we pledge to our Saudi friends that we will take on this effort,” the statement added.
The statement highlighted the historic relations between the two countries, which started when President Franklin D. Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz met 60 years ago.
“Today, we renewed our personal friendship and that between our nations,” Bush said. “In our meeting, we agreed that tremendous changes in the world call on us to forge a new relationship between our two countries to strengthen our partnership,” the statement said.
Although some pundits predicted a contentious meeting between the two leaders, a tone of congeniality was set Sunday night when former President George Herbert Walker Bush entertained the crown prince, calling him a “noble man.”
At the beginning of yesterday’s meeting between the crown prince and the president, the men greeted each other with a warm embrace and walked hand-in-hand into the meeting room.
“I hope that these relations will get stronger,” the crown prince said after the meeting. “I admire George Bush, the father, who’s a close friend of mine,” he added.
President Bush emphasized Saudi Arabia’s leading position in the Islamic world as the birthplace of Islam and home to the two holy mosques. He also noted the Kingdom’s adherence to the tenets of Islam.
“Saudi Arabia maintains its call on all those who teach and propagate the Islamic faith to adhere strictly to the Islamic message of peace, moderation and tolerance and reject that which deviates from those principles.
“Both countries agree that this message of peace, moderation and tolerance must extend to those of all faiths and practices. The two nations reaffirm the principles agreed to during the international conference on counterterrorism hosted by the Kingdom in February 2005,” the statement said.
These principles were enshrined in the Riyadh Declaration, which calls for “fostering values of understanding, tolerance, dialogue, coexistence and the rapprochement between cultures... and for fighting any form of thinking that promotes hatred, incites violence and supports terrorist acts,” the two sides said.
Saudi Arabia recognizes the principle of freedom upon which the US was founded. The US applauded the recently concluded municipal council elections in the Kingdom and said it was looking forward to “even wider participation in accordance with the Kingdom’s reform program.”
While affirming their existing cooperation in the oil sector, the statement said “the US appreciates Saudi Arabia’s strong commitment to accelerating investment and expanding its production capacity to help provide stability and adequately supply the market.”
On Iraq, the statement said the two countries were committed to help the Iraqi people realize their aspirations to build a secure, sovereign, prosperous and unified nation at peace with its neighbors and where Iraqis of all religious and ethnic groups are free to participate in its institutions.
They also urged the international community to support Iraq’s political and economic development. “Both nations urge neighboring states not to interfere in Iraq’s internal political affairs,” the statement said.
The statement condemned the terrorist attacks in both countries and reiterated their cooperation to combat terrorism.
“Both our nations assert our determination to continue to improve upon our close cooperation to combat terrorism and to choke off resources intended for them and their support networks. We honor the memory of the victims of terrorism and those who have lost their lives fighting terrorists and pledge to work together until terrorism no longer threatens our nations and the entire world,” the statement said.
Referring to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the statement said Riyadh and Washington wanted a just, negotiated settlement wherein two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace and security.
Bush thanked the crown prince for his peace initiative, which was endorsed by the 2002 Arab League summit in Beirut.
“We believe that an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and parts of the West Bank will be a significant step toward implementation of the road map. It is our firm conviction that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will remove a major source of tension and contribute to stability and progress in the region,” the statement said.
The crown prince also met here with US Vice President Dick Cheney and Roy Hunt, chairman of Hunt Oil Company. Today, he is scheduled to meet with former President Bill Clinton.
