Prince Khalid Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Makkah Region, today patronized the opening ceremony of Saudi Arabia's celebrations of World Maritime Day 2008 held under the title "60 years in the service of navigation" and graced a graduation ceremony of Saudi Arabia's first batch of Marine Studies. The students were graduated from the Faculty of Oceanography, University of King Abdulaziz in Jeddah. In a key address, Minister of Transport Jubarah bin Eid Al-Suraiseri briefly reviewed the history of the International Maritime Organization and the active role of the Kingdom, making it one of IMO's current members for the second time in a row. This year's ceremony will include a number of activities, seminars and an exhibition to be held on the fringes of the event, he said. For his part, Prince Khalid Al Faisal expressed happiness of holding this event, organized by the Ministry of Transport and King Abdulaziz University in which other government agencies, companies and institutions are taking part. He said the event reflects Saudi Arabia's early investment to its geographical advantage, serves its own economic development in particular and its comprehensive development plans in general and fulfills its responsibility towards pilgrims and Umrah performers.
