JEDDAH, 17 July 2007 — Crown Prince Sultan, who begins a tour of the southern region today, will open the seventh military exhibition at the King Khaled Airbase in the Asir region tomorrow.
Authorities in the southern region have completed preparations to receive Prince Sultan, who is minister of defense and aviation. Sultan is scheduled to arrive at Abha Airport at 5:15 p.m. today and will be received at the airport by Asir Gov. Prince Faisal ibn Khaled and senior commanders of the armed forces.
The crown prince will also open a large mosque at the military city tomorrow and attend a reception at the Equestrian Club, which has been organized by the armed forces in the region.
He will return to Jeddah on Thursday after hosting a banquet for prominent personalities and senior military commanders and officers at his palace in Faraa.
According to organizers of the crown prince’s visit, tomorrow’s popular reception will include an operetta and a musical dance featuring songs written by poets Abdullah Al-Sharief and Yahya Al-Sarhani.
Maj. Gen. Omar ibn Hassan Babaeer, commander of the southern region, is directly supervising arrangements for the military show that aims at highlighting the progress achieved by the country’s armed forces.
The exhibition includes acrobatic displays by Saudi falcons, aircraft and freestyle parachute jumping, and a display of modern military weapons and aircraft by land, air and naval forces.
Security forces in the region, including the Anti-Drugs Department, will take part in the show. Entry to the exhibition will be free and visitors will be allowed to enter from the northern part of the airbase.
Meanwhile, the Prince Sultan Charitable Foundation has constructed 100 low-cost housing units in Al-Qahma for 100 poor families in the region. Each house has three bedrooms, a sitting room, a living room, a dining hall, a kitchen and three toilets.
The project, covering 187,000 square meters, includes two primary schools for boys and girls, a health center, a social center and a mosque that can accommodate 600 worshippers. The foundation has carried out a similar project in the southern Najran region for 120 poor families.
