On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, today patronized the inaugural ceremony of the 18th National Festival for Heritage and Culture, which is organised annually by the National Guard.
The ceremony was attended by King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain.
At the venue, the Crown Prince was received by Prince Mishaal bin Abdul Aziz; Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, Vice-Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Miqren bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Madinah Region; Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdulmohsin Al-Tuwaijeri, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard; Undersecretaries of the National Guard, and members of the Higher Organising Committee of the Festival.
During a speech ceremony to mark the opening of the Festival, Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Al-Saud, Sa’ad bin Abdullah Al-Mi’jel and Mohammed bin Salih bin Sultan were selected as the most distinguished Saudi businessmen for the year 2002. On behalf of the monarch, Crown Prince Abdullah awarded each of them, or their representatives, a King Abdul Aziz First Class Medal in recognition of their role in boosting the Saudi economy. Ahmed bin Ali Al-Mubarak was selected as the 18th Festival’s Cultural Personality. In a key address, the Minister of Commerce, Osama bin Jaafar Faqih, said the Saudi private sector contribution to the national economy amounted to over 40% of the Gross Domestic Product.
Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard then left the venue.
The opening ceremony, the dinner in honour of the invitees and the speech ceremony were attended by Prince Misha’al bin Abdul Aziz; Prince Fahd bin Mohammed bin Abdul Aziz; Prince Mit’eb bin Abdul Aziz, Minister of Public Works and Housing; Prince Fahd bin Mashari bin Jalawe; Prince Badr bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Commander of the National Guard and Chairman of the Festival’s Higher Organizing Committee; Prince Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, Chief of General Intelligence; Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Abdulilah bin Abdul Aziz; Prince Sattam bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Miqrin bin Abdul Aziz, Governor of Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah; Sheikh Ziab bin Zaid Al-Nahayan, Director of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) President’s Court; Sheikh Hamid bin Zaid Al Nahayan, Chairman of the UAE Department of Economics; other Ministers, a number of diplomatic corps accredited to the Kingdom; foreign guests; senior civil and military officials, and a group of citizens.
Source: SPA
