RIYADH — The Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Riyadh and the Institute of Public Administration hosted last week their third Model United Nations conference. This conference brought together 200 students from Saudi public and private institutions to strengthen their public speaking, negotiation, and research skills while leading substantive discussions on a variety of global issues. In Model UN, participants role-play as delegates of different countries and work together to discuss and resolve problems facing the international community. Extracurricular activities like Model UN help students distinguish themselves during the competitive college application process. These activities also offer college students networking opportunities and develop contacts for their future professional careers. Representatives from the US Embassy and Saudi universities attended the opening ceremony. US Embassy Public Affairs Counselor Dr. Brian Shott delivered the keynote address at the opening ceremony. "The relationship between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been going on for a long time. This coming February, we are looking forward to celebrating the 75th anniversary of the historic meeting between King Abdulaziz and President Franklin Roosevelt aboard the USS Quincy," Dr. Shott said. "Since that time, the relationship has developed out of mutual interests, focusing on economic cooperation, security, and regional stability and we do it in a variety of ways," Dr. Shott added. "One of the ways we do it is through cultural and education exchanges between our peoples, which bring us closer together." "MUN is an intensive program for the development of young leaders to represent the Kingdom at international events which align with the goals of IPA to develop competencies," Abdulrahman Alsheail, director of human resources at the Institute of Public Administration, said. "We are having a success story, organizing the third MUN with the support of the US Embassy and IPA", Hasan Al-Omran, one of the organizers, said.
