Suliman Alhamdan, Saudi Transport Minister and president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), has inaugurated the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Arabic version's website in Montreal, Canada. The Kingdom have given strong support to establish the Arabic version of the website, where it had become one of the accredited languages in ICAO website. Alhamdan stressed that the translation of ICAO website into Arabic is an important step unprecedented as it will allow for all Arabic-speaking individuals in becoming familiar with ICAO. This comes from the Kingdom's belief that the language is one of the most important ways to obtain any given information and to standardize rules and recommendations of ICAO, particularly in the field of safety and security. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud in his meeting with the president of ICAO last month in Saudi Arabia, stressed the importance of Arabic as a major language in the organization website. He noted that Arabic is one of the most widespread languages in the world, spoken by more than four hundred million daily. It is also the official language of Arab countries that stretches from the Arabian Gulf and beyond in a very important geographical location. This, in addition of it being the language of the Holy Quran and must be preserved and promoted through international organizations. He went on to praise the Kingdom's delegation at ICAO for this achievement, where their role in the creation of the website through ICAO's second International World Aviation Forum as a first time achievement.— SG
