Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, said the internal and foreign policies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be carrying the same values and principles formulated by Late King Abdulaziz, the Kingdom's Founder, and followed by his sons.
"These polices will remain unchanged", said Prince Saud in a press briefing here today.
Prince Saud pointed out that the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz is a great loss to the Kingdom, and added: "King Fahd was a great leader and a wise King who had devoted his time for the service of his religion and country".
"King Fahd was fully aware of the role that should be played by the Kingdom in the service of the Arab and Muslim causes, as well as the just international causes," he noted.
He noted that the Kingdom, during the era of King Fahd, had played an effective role at the regional and international arenas, and had positively contributed to boosting local economy, and to realizing stability of the international economy.
"The Kingdom which has the biggest reserves of crude oil in the world, was keen on realizing balance in a manner that serves both oil consumers and producers", he said.
Prince Saud said the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was the honest assistant of late King Fahd.
He noted that the smooth transfer of power after the death of King Fahd, stands as a witness to the strength of the Kingdom's institutions.
"The Kingdom will be open with the world, and at the same time it will adhere to its deep-rooted traditions and values", he said adding: "Tthe Kingdom is keen on contributing to preservation of the global peace and stability and honoring its bilateral and international commitments, as well as on respecting the principles, laws and resolutions of the international
legitimacy.
"Moreover the Kingdom will tirelessly exert efforts to solve regional and international problems", he said.
Prince Saud said the Kingdom, which is proud of its international relations, will remain keen on preserving its close relations with the fraternal and friendly countries within the framework of the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in domestic affairs.
Prince Saud reiterated the keenness of the Kingdom on attracting foreign investors.
Prince Saud categorically denied reports which said that the Libyan President, Muammar Gaddafi was planning to come to the Kingdom to offer condolences on the death of King Fahd. He said reports in this respect were untrue.
Asked if the post of the Second Deputy Premier will be filled, Prince Saud said this post did not exist in the basic rule system and the King had to decide whether to appoint one.
As regards the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz to set up an International Counter-terrorism Center, Prince Saud said that a full report of the International Counter-terrorism Conference held in the Kingdom this year had been distributed to participants in the conference. They were going to submit it to the United Nations to be ratified. A major part of the report dealt with the International Counter-terrorism Center proposed by the King. If it was approved by the General Assembly, it would then be combined into recommendations of a report that would be submitted by the United Nations on terrorism.
Prince Saud noted that Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Ambassador to Italy, was the nominee for the post of ambassador in London.
Replying to a question on the extradition of more than 129 Saudi detainees in Guantanamo, the Prince said the discussion of extradition had been continuing between the Saudi and U.S. governments, but the topic was not been discussed during the visit of the U.S. Vice President to the Kingdom.
As for the date of convening the Extraordinary Islamic Summit in Makkah, he said it will be announced after a meeting of Muslim jurisprudents, thinkers and religious scholars who will prepare for the summit.
On a mutual trade agreement between the Kingdom and the United States, he indicated that it might be signed before his expected visit to the United States.
Regarding the situation in Mauritania, Prince Saud did not see a connection between the presence of Mauritania's President in the Kingdom and the coup d'etat, adding that it was an internal matter relating to the people of Mauritania. He noted that the President of Mauritania had not requested political asylum in the Kingdom.
With regard to the Extraordinary Arab Summit, he said that discussions had been under way to set a date for the Summit. The Kingdom appreciated the Arab League's postponement of the summit due to the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Late King Fahd bin Abdulaziz. "If the Summit is held, the Kingdom will attend. But the attendance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz will depend on his duties here and on the Summit's date, Prince Saud said.
He indicated that an invitation to visit the United States was submitted to King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz by the U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, but the date has not been set yet.
As for the killing of Sudan's first Vice President John Garang, he noted that although his death indicated that someone had killed him, all news broadcasts said that the incident was due to a fluctuating bad weather at that time.
In a reply to a question about US President's visit to the Kingdom he said he had no knowledge of this.
Replying to a question on reports that the Kingdom had passed information to the British authorities on London bombings, he said that there had been continued cooperation and contacts between the two countries. There was a committee working here to exchange information between the two sides. "I am sure that there is some information that might be related to incidents in England. The British have also passed information to us that might be important in some incidents here. This is not surprising as every international efforts have been exerted by every state to fight terrorism", he said.
As for relations between the Kingdom and Japan, Prince Saud hoped that relations will be enhanced in accordance with the joint interests and political wishes of both countries.
On the difference between the Western and Islamic world, he pointed out that the difference started with the Palestinian issue which was created and helped by the Western countries. "Now we expect that these countries assist in solving the issue. If this issue had not been created, then there would not have been any difference between the two sides", Prince Saud said.
With regard to relations with the United States following the visit of the U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney and his accompanying delegation to the Kingdom, Prince Saud said: "At the governmental level, the relations are at their best now. As for the U.S. public opinions, we are exerting all efforts to promote the trust that existed before."
As for restoration of the trust of the U.S. public opinions in the Kingdom, he noted that terrorism started in Saudi Arabia before the United States. War on terrorism in the Kingdom can only bring back the trust. "The U.S. people will realize that this country started to fight terrorism before any attacks on the West. The facts of the Kingdom's war on terrorism will convince realistic observers that the Kingdom is against terrorism", he said.
Regarding relations with Iraq, Prince Saud said: "we want the strongest possible relations with Iraq, which is a neighboring country and a member of the Arab League. We hope that excellent relations will continue. We are willing to work in a way that helps Iraq, if it wishes. Our role in helping Iraq will be continued through the Arab League".
On the Kingdom's initiative to bridge the gap between the Kingdom's situation and the misconception about the Kingdom, he said that he cannot see a better policy than the current one of receiving representatives of the mass media and telling them what was happening in the Kingdom. "These representatives can request and meet any official in the Kingdom", Prince Saud said.
