Spanish envoy praises Kingdom’s leadership

Spain’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joaquin Perez-Villanueva said that the Kingdom’s leadership has played a major role in providing a stable regime by fighting terror and extremist ideology.
“We are grateful to the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the stability he provides to the Kingdom and his leading role in this region,” the envoy said at a reception on Thursday to mark the occasion of his country’s National Day.
The event was attended by Riyadh Gov. Prince Turki bin Abdullah, and members of the diplomatic community in the capital along with Spanish citizens representing their firms.
The envoy spoke about the strong relations between the two countries and his country’s call for solidarity with Saudi Arabia against fanaticism and intolerance.
“We want to be united with Saudi Arabia in our fight against hunger, misery and marginalization,” Perez-Villanueva said, adding that both Spain and the Kingdom want to make education available to all.
He said: “Saudi Arabia and Spain are very concerned about the spread of terror which is the most serious challenge facing the world today. Many countries suffer from terror attacks but we shall be able to overcome the danger of this extremist ideology by cooperating with each other.”
According to the ambassador, his country is recovering from the recession and is making its way back to the process of growth. “We are about to see an increase in the creation of jobs,” he noted.
The ambassador described the positive change as an outcome of the efforts of the Spanish people, the policy of its government, the assistance and guidance of the European community and the trust and confidence of many friends, including Saudi Arabia.
The prime objective of Spain during the last three years has been to restore the competitiveness of its economy. Thanks to the role of modern technology and the contribution of the private sector, Spain’s economy is showing an upward trend as borne out by facts and figures.
He continued: “The first company for renewable energy in the world is Spanish. The biggest contracting company in the world is Spanish. The first group in fashion and distribution is Spanish too. And Spain is the first to provide desalinated water in the world.”
Spain is also gathering encouraging statistics in the tourism sector with the country receiving 63 million tourists in 2013.
Many Spanish companies are now operating in Saudi Arabia in the fields of technology and infrastructure development, he added.