SUSRIS Daily News – Excerpts from International Media Reports
[Links to full articles were active on the date posted here]
Concerted Efforts to Counter Terror Needed [May 29]
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia to foster peace and end clashes in the world in the Alliance of Civilizations conference currently being held in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva opened the two-day conference of the Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), an offshoot of the United Nation, in Rio on Friday.. ..On behalf of King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Saud Al-Faisal headed the Saudi delegation to the conference and read out the king’s speech. ‘This third forum of UNAOC has a special significance in the light of the ongoing crises and conflicts in the world. It needs our concerted efforts to counter the violence and terror caused by extremist groups who raise a language of hatred,’ King Abdullah said in the speech read out by Prince Saud. Saudi Arabia has been consistently promoting a policy of dialogue of civilizations in order to strengthen peaceful coexistence and understanding in the world. It strives to spread humanitarian values. It seeks to replace confrontation with harmony as a means to defuse tension and achieve peace, the king’s speech said..” [Complete Report]
Fingerprints to be Required For All Services [May 29]
“The Passports Department has said that foreign residents in the Kingdom will soon have to be registered in the fingerprint system if they wish to avail themselves of the various government services. ‘Fingerprints will be a basic requirement to obtain these services soon,’ said Passports chief Salim Al-Bulaihid. ‘The system will help us provide better services through secure electronic channels and save both time and effort, allowing the Ministry of Interior and other ministries to make use of the database.’ According to Al-Bulaihid, fingerprinting needs only be done once and requires no updating. ‘It will help curb forgery and impersonation, which have caused significant problems, and allow the verification of the identities of nationals and foreigners alike,’ he said, adding that the system is currently being introduced for Saudi nationals at Civil Affairs..” [Complete Report]
Turkey Creates Legal Basis for Military Hardware Cooperation With Saudis [May 29]
“Turkey and Saudi Arabia have signed a military as well as technical and scientific cooperation agreement that has created the legal basis for Turkey to enter the Saudi defense market, which relies heavily on off-the-shelf arms bought mainly from Western countries. Turkey has been making vigorous efforts to boost its still poor defense industry market through joint manufacturing projects and to increase the ability of its domestic defense market to manufacture its own products. Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed the agreement on May 24 in Ankara to cooperate in military training as well as in technical and scientific fields. Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül said he was pleased the two countries had signed a military agreement after a long period of negotiation..” [Complete Report]
