The visit of Crown Prince Sultan ibn Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia's scheduled visit to Pakistan, on April 15 and 16, 2006, is a very important one in the backdrop of the current international situation in the world, in this region and at the bilateral level between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
This will be the first visit to Pakistan by him as the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince. He has visited Pakistan several times in the past as the Defence Minister of the Kingdom and as the Second Deputy Prime Minister, the last visit having taken place in 1998.
Prince Sultan is the most eminent person in the Saudi Kingdom after Khadim Al-Haramain King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz. However, even before becoming the Crown Prince in August last year he had shouldered some of the most important offices and responsibilities in the kingdom since 1947. Born on January 5, 1928, corresponding to the 13th of Rajab of 1346 Hijra, Prince Sultan was groomed in the statecraft and administration by his illustrious father, the founder of the Saudi Arabian Kingdom, the late King Abdul Aziz, who is acknowledged as one of the greatest statesmen of the 20th Century.
Prince Sultan was appointed Governor of the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, on June 3, 1947. He handled the responsibilities as Governor in a very able manner and was responsible for several development projects that sought to ensure more civic amenities for the citizens of Riyadh.
He became the first Agriculture Minister of Saudi Arabia on December 24, 1953, when the first Saudi Council of Ministers was formed in the cabinet, headed by King Saud ibn Abdul Aziz, who succeeded the Saudi throne following the death of his illustrious father on November 9, 1953. He gave special attention to several projects that aimed at giving Saudi Arabia food autarchy, an objective achieved finally in recent years.
Prince Sultan became the Minister of Communications on November 5, 1955, when plans were initiated for the development of roads, ports and aviation in the Saudi Kingdom. It was of October 13, 1962 that he became Minister for Defence and Civil Aviation as also Inspector-General of the Saudi Armed Forces. He has now the honour of being the longest serving Minister of Defence not just in the Saudi Kingdom but in the world.
Prince Sultan devoted all his energies to the proper organisation of the Saudi armed forces. The upgradation and modernisation of the Saudi armed forces, along with enhancement of their efficiency and effectiveness through acquisition of the latest weaponry are achievements of which every Saudi is proud.
The capabilities of the Saudi armed forces, were put to test in the 1990-91 Gulf crisis in which Iraqi occupation of the State of Kuwait was defeated and Kuwait was liberated after effective and successful land, sea and air operations in which the Saudi armed forces took a leading part along the coalition forces that obtained the liberation of Kuwait in February-end, 1991.
After the visit of former President Ayub Khan in the end of 1959 and beginning of 1960, the ties in the defence field between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan began building up in the right direction. The war of 1965, when Saudi King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz stood by Pakistan and placed Saudi Foreign Exchange reserves at the disposal of Pakistan in the backdrop of a threat that Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves may be frozen, the co-operation in the defence field between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia acquired a new dimension.
After the historic visit of late King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz in 1966, the negotiations for defence co-operation agreement between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan were successfully concluded and Prince Sultan signed the defence co-operation agreement with Pakistan in his official visit to Pakistan in 1967.
Since that day the defence co-operation between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia has blossomed a most successful and multi-dimensional defence accord between any two countries. Saudi officers from all wings of the armed forces have obtained their training in Pakistan defence institutions, including the Staff College at Quetta, while Pakistan has also assisted Saudi Arabia in the establishment of Saudi defence training centres and colleges which have now acquired a world class status.
Saudi Arabia stood by Pakistan in the 1971 crisis and when the Zionist State of Israel threatened the Holy Shrines of Islam in Saudi Arabian, after Zionist incursions into Lebanon and the siege of Beirut in 1982, Pakistan sent its troops to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the defence of the Holy Land. Thus, Pakistani troops for the first time went to bolster Saudi defences at the invitation of the Saudi leadership in the early 80s when King Khalid ruled over the Saudi Kingdom with late Khadim Al Haramain King Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz as the Crown Prince and Prince Sultan as the Defence Minister.
The Pakistan contingent came back in the mid-80s after due acknowledgement of their positive role in bolstering Saudi Arabian defences against possible Zionist designs.
Prince Sultan as the Defence Minister of the Kingdom saw to the further growth of ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. This was carried out through regular visits of senior military officers of the two countries on a reciprocal basis, routine consultations on matters of defence and further strengthening the co-operation in the training field through joint manoeuvres. Pakistan and Saudi land, air and marine units have carried out joint exercises on a regular basis, thus further enhancing the defence ties between the two countries.
Prince Sultan showed his keen interest in the development of backward areas of Balochistan when he gave a donation of dollar ten million for the development of the Balochistan province and the amount was handed over to then Balochistan Governor, Lieutenant General Rahimuddin, in the 80s.
Prince Sultan's interest in the provision of amenities and facilities for the underdeveloped areas in Balochistan has been maintained by his sons, including Prince Fahd ibn Sultan, who is Governor of Tabuq in Saudi Arabia. A huge hospital donated by Saudi Arabia at the initiative of Prince Sultan also works in Dalbandin, besides schools.
Prince Sultan has also taken the lead in the social welfare field by setting up the Prince Sultan Endowment and Foundation for philanthropic work with a capital of Saudi riyal one billion.
Soon after taking over responsibilities as the Crown Prince in August, 2005, he represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the 60th anniversary celebrations of the United Nations in New York and declared the full commitment of the Saudi Kingdom to the international fight against terrorism. Prince Sultan advocated UN reforms in keeping with the new challenges that the international community faces now. The Saudi Crown Prince has reiterated this commitment of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of King Abdullah ibn Abdul Aziz during his visits to Japan and Singapore earlier this month before coming to Pakistan on the last leg of his current visit abroad.
One of the pieces on TV coverage of his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was very significant which showed the Japanese Prime Minister presenting old photographs of the visit to Japan by the Crown Prince as Communication Minister in 1960. The veneration in which the Japanese Premier held the Saudi Crown Prince was fully demonstrated in that meeting. And why not? Saudi Arabia is today building stronger ties with the East, including China and Japan. As the largest producer of oil for export in the world, the position of Saudi Arabia is very important to Japan for its energy needs.
One thing specially noticeable during the Crown Prince's visit to Japan and Singapore was his informality and humility in keeping with Islamic tenets. In his address to various institutions and the Press he has stressed the message of peace that Islam gives and the moderation that it preaches.
In my meeting with Prince Sultan at dinner in Karachi, I found him soft-spoken and to the point, conveying his opinion and assessment on various issues very convincingly. I am sure that the same would be his approach in his meetings with President General Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad and co-operation between the two countries would acquire a new dimension as a result of this visit, which is a follow-up of the ground-breaking visit by King Abdullah earlier in February 2006.
The discussions would promote greater cohesion in the policies of the two countries in dealing with international terrorism, Iraq, Afghanistan, OIC and UN reforms.
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