Faiz Al-Najdi RIYADH — Pakistani nationals thronged the community hall of the Embassy of Pakistan Monday to commemorate Saudi Arabia's 83rd National Day. A symposium, titled “Strengthening Pak- Saudi relations,” was also held for the attendees in which six guest speakers spoke on different aspects of Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations, focusing on health, education, defense, communications and media, IT and construction, among others. Dr. Saeed Ur Rehman shed light on bilateral relations of medical education and health care. He said that many Saudi doctors who hold high positions in the Saudi Ministry of Health today are graduates of Pakistani medical colleges. Prof. Javed Iqbal touched base on the countries' relations in media. He structured his talk into three parts to show the complete scenario of the Saudi media: pre 9/11, post 9/11 and the future. On October 1, 1948, the first Saudi radio channel named as Hijaz commenced, and only delivered Hajj sermons. The first official Saudi radio was founded in 1962 while on July 1, 1965 the first ever Saudi TV Channel 1 went into orbit. Asghar Qureshi spoke about construction activities in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, giving examples of the iconic Faisal Mosque in Islamabad and renaming of the industrial city of Lyallpur to Faisalabad. “Saudi initiatives to fund the rebuilding of some of the earthquake-affected town and villages in the northern part of Pakistan is yet another testimony of how strong our relationship is.” Abdul Malik Mujahid enlightened the audience about the history of Al-Saud and the formation of Saudi Arabia. Dr. Asif Qureshi spoke about the oldest university in the Kingdom, King Saud University, which was established in 1957 and has around 25,000 students; the largest university, King Abdulaziz University, which hosts around 42,000 students; KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science & Technology) and Princess Nourah University. He said that Pakistani academicians are performing a great service in all the universities. Visiting retired professor of English in Pakistan Prof. Ghulam Sarwar Qureshi said that both countries were interlinked with each other on security issues. Alaudin Al-Askari, former Chief of Protocol at the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, was the chief guest of the day. Al-Askari said during his 42 years of service he has worked at a number of departments, from media to foreign office; he felt proud that in all of these places he has always found a good Pakistani colleague. “Strong relationship exists between our two countries and Saudi leaders have a special corner in their heart for Pakistan. InShaAllah this relationship shall continue further,” he said. Al-Askari expressed his interest in learning Urdu, which he said was a “sweet language.” Ambassador of Pakistan Muhammad Naeem Khan said he felt honored to arrange such a symposium on the National Day. “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are brotherly countries and we stand with them shoulder-to-shoulder at this happy moment and celebrations. We have special ties with the Kingdom as Pakistan was created for Islam and Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam,” Khan said, adding that both countries have cemented their relationship of trust. He mentioned that during the 70s thousands of Pakistanis came to the Kingdom. “I feel proud to mention here that Pakistanis have given their blood and soul in the development of this country.” Khan also said that he was proud to mention that during the reign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah relationship between the two countries have reached new heights. “King Abdullah has been very kind with Pakistan and Pakistanis. His help during the 2005 earthquake and 2011 and 2012 flood disasters are a testimony of the same. And, we greatly value his love for Pakistan.” The event commenced with the national anthems of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan echoing in the hall. It was moderated by Abbas Sarwar Qureshi, head of chancery and head of passport section at the embassy. Khayyam Akbar, deputy head of the mission, presented an eight-point resolution for ratification by the Pakistanis present. The resolution focused on to better bilateral relationships between both countries; encouraging Pakistanis to respect Saudi laws and continue to contribute toward the Kingdom's development. — SG
