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History of Saudi Arabia

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The 30^th f Shaaban 1427, corresponding to the 23^rd of September 2006, will be the 76^th anniversary of the Kingdom's National Day. In this day in year 1932, history has recorded the birth day of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This came as a result of a long and hard struggle led by King Abdulaziz bin Abdurrahman al Saud within a period of 32 years after recapturing Riyadh city, the capital of his ancestors that was on the 15^th of January 1902.

A Royal Decree to unite all parts of the Kingdom was issued on the 17^th of Jumada Al Uola 1351 the new name given to the kingdom was "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia". King Abdulaziz chose the 23^rd of September to be celebrated as the National Day of the kingdom.

Seventy five years have passed, full of achievements in this country, the corner stone of which was laid by the late King Abdulaziz and hid decedents continued to do so after him.

Growth of King Abdulaziz

King Abdulaziz was born in Riyadh city in the year 1876, his father was Imam Abdurrahman bin Faisal bin Turky bin Abdullah al Soud. He was taught by Sheikh Abdullah Al Kharji a well learned man from Riyadh City. He learned many chapters of the Holy Quraan. Later he learned the whole Quraan, Islamic Theology from another teachernamed Abdullah bin Abdullatif Al Al-Sheikh.

When he was young, King Abdulaziz was fond of horse riding, he was known to be very brave, courageous, daring and was of good manners.He accompanied his father in his journey to the Badiyah. He was greatly influenced by the nomad life he led after leaving Riyadh City. Abdulaziz was only twelve years old when he arrived in Kuwait with his father. He spent about ten years there during which period he learned the holy Quraan, learned about politics and learned about how to lead soldiers in the battle field.

The beginning of the new era:-

King Abdulaziz was in his twenties when left Kuwait leading a handful of his relatives and aids towards Riyadh, by then he was about 26 years old. The Arab peninsula was in a mess. But on the 15^th of January 1902 King Abdulaziz was able to enter Riyadh City victoriously and the Arab peninsula witnessed a new era. He took over both the political and religious powers when his father, Imam Abdurrahman bin Faisal stepped down for him. This took place in the Grand Mosque after the Jumaah prayer.

Gradually, the new King started to unite Najd area beginning with southern Riyadh when he defeated his opponents in an area called Dalam near Kharj thereby taking over all towns of southern Riyadh including Kharj, Al Hareeq, al Aflaj and Wadi Al Dawasir.

King Abdulaziz then went to Al Washam area and conquered its capital city Shagra and then went on to Thadiq and the capital of Sudair Al Majmaah. This was culminated in uniting all these areas under his rule and became part of what is known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

King Abdulaziz was able to conquer Gasim area in the 1321/1324 after several minor battles but the last and decisive one was Raudat Mahannah on the 14^th of April 1906.

Uniting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

on the 17^th of Jumadah Al Uola 1351, a Royal Decree was issued declaring all parts of the Kingdom united, under the name" Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" and his title was King of Saudi Arabia. King Abdulaziz chose Thursday the 21^st of jumadah al Uola to declare that unity. Now this is the national Day of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

During his reign, two crossing swards and a datepalm between them was chosen as an emblem for the newly established Kingdom.

The flag of the kingdom was also chosen, it is a green rectangle in the center were written the words "No god except Allah and Mohammed is his messenger in white, and under it is white sword.

From the beginning, King Abdulaziz, organized his kingdom in a modern way. He delegated authority and formed a government for Hijaz area after conquering it. He then created the non-existing office of General Prosecutor and appointed his son Prince Faisal to head that office that was in the year 1926. He also assigned to Prince Faisal the Chairmanship of the Shuora Council which was a consultative council. In December 1931, another decree was issued establishing a council of deputies. King Abdulaziz, then formed several ministries to run the government. Diplomatic relations with some countries were established and ambassadors, councils, commissioners and ministers were also appointed.

King abdulaziz also supported the Palestinian issue and when the Arab League was established in Cairo in 1945 the Kingdom was among its first members. Among the first achievements of King Abdulaziz was his project to settle the Nomads. They were settled in villages and agricultural lands. An army of volunteers was formed out of these settled nomads. King Abdulaziz worked hard to improve the social and economic conditions of Saudi Arabia. He gave his instructions to establish new schools and institutes and encouraged book publishing especially Islamic books. He also expanded the Prophets mosque and supplied it with waster and medical services to serve Pilgrims.

A strong :

In 1937, oil was produced in commercial quantities in the Eastern Region thereby increasing the wealth of the country which in turn contributed to the development of the Kingdom and its welfare. The Saudi Arabian Monetary Fund was then Established. The King also ordered that agricultural equipment should be bought and distributed among farmers. Asphalt roads were also constructed and a railway line was also established to link Riyadh with Dammam. A network of telecommunications was established together with the Saudi Arabian Airways in 1945. a pipeline was constructed from the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. Saudi Arabian Broadcasting Station was also established by the King in 1949. to fight disease the king ordered the establishment of Hospitals and provide heath services in the different parts of the kingdom. Immigration law was enacted to regulate the immigration and regular residence in the kingdom. Therefore it is clear that King Abdulaziz (IP) succeeded in laying the foundation stone of a strong government in the Arabian Peninsula whereby it's constitution was based on the Holy Quraan and the saying of Prophet Mohammad (BUH) and as a result the country became one of the most peaceful and prosperous in the world for a long time to come.

Reform and development

King Abdulaziz did not sufficed himself with what he achieved earlier, but he continued to develop it and improve on it in all aspects and by will of God he succeeded in laying the firm bases for a good Islamic System that is concentrated on responsibility and good governance. So ministries and governmental organizations were established to continue this development. New innovations were imported to replace the old systems. The judiciary was based on the Sharia system therefore various courts were formed. It was also known that King Abdulaziz has achieved a lot in the field of security, law and order, he was serious in applying the law and punishing anyone who tried to bring disorder in the kingdom so much that the Kingdom became very famous security wise.

Care For Pilgrims:

Pilgrims in Saudi Arabia who believed to be the Guests of Allah, were served with the best services and a law governing pilgrimage was enacted and the king himself supervised it's implementation to prevent anyone from exploiting them especially in transportation and accommodation services. The king was keen in seeing that food and water were provided to them in sufficient quantities.

King Abdulaziz was keen to spread Islamic education and knowledge, he fought ignorance everywhere in his Kingdom by supporting teachers, preachers and private schools and culminated this by establishing education department to oversee education in the kingdom .

Relationships

King Abdulaziz did not only concentrate his efforts in the internal building only but he worked hard in the external area too. He established strong external relations with other friendly and brotherly countries based on clear objectives and steadfastness to principles according to Islamic teachings. King Abdulaziz therefore strengthened relationships with brotherly Arab countries and worked hard to unite their stands on international issues and solve their internal differences through dialogue and agree on objectives that would guarantee them the liberation of their occupied territories and keep their rights.

Establishing Sharia Law:

The main objective of King Abdulaziz was to establish the rule of Islamic Law in the kingdom according to the Quraan and the teachings of Prophet Mohammad. This objective was achieved fully by King Abdulaziz because up till now the Kingdom is governed by the Sharia law. The Kings speeches and sayings prove this. Among what he said is " I depend on whatever I do on Allah who there is no God but him, I depend on him overtly and covertly, I believe that He is going to support us because of this dependence on Him. I am making Jihad to see to it that his word is supreme" .

He also said in the opening speech of the first Shoura council in 1349H. "All of you know that the base of our governance is the Islamic Law, therefore you are free to pass bills and enact laws that you believe suitable for this country, and these laws must not contradict the Islamic law because laws that are contrary to the Islamic law will not be of any benefit to any one. It is really bad and damaging to enact law against the Sharia laws which was revealed to our prophet Mohammad.

Security

Before King Abdulaziz, there was no security in the Arab Peninsula, even pilgrims suffered from highwaymen who attacked them and took their property, the Othman Empire imposed some sort of taxes to protect pilgrims to be paid in gold to highwaymen so that they would not attack pilgrims but still some attacks occur from time to time. When king Abdulaziz came to power and applied the Sharia law he was able to reinforce law and order in the country and the robbery gangs have disappeared forever. An interesting story was being told about the security in the Kingdom, it was a story of a lost came loaded with goods and foodstuff which moved from town to town without being taken by any body until the owner found it. The kingdom therefore witnessed an ideal sort of security that has not been seen in most countries in the region by that time.

Islamic Solidarity

King Abdulaziz as a good Muslim leader who obeyed Gods instructions that Muslims should be brothers to each other, was the first Muslim leader to call for Muslim solidarity, therefore the first General Islamic conference in the history of Islam took place, it was called upon by king Andulaziz in 1345.

The policies which were laid down by king Abdulaziz on uniting Muslims stands and solidarity became the underling principles for the Kingdoms policies thereafter. Among his sayings on this issue "the most beloved thing to me is that I want to see Muslims united in their stands, to see them love each other and also to see Arabs loving each other, pursuing the same objective and follow the same way that leads them to the good.

Personality of King Abdulaziz:

King Abdulaziz was a unique leader of his time for he had a strong character that could be described by the following.

* He was a strong believer in God and he depended on him in all his deeds.

*He used to have a good experience in the religious affairs, because he learnt the Quraan by heart and also learned by heart many of the prophets sayings together with the knowledge of the Islamic exegesis and applies all this knowledge practically on the way he governed throughout his time of rule. He used to sit with the well-learned people overnight and discussed religious affairs with them

*as a sagacious leader, King Abdulaziz was very wise in approaching any problem that faced him no wonder his choice of solutions in most cases was right.

*King Abdulaziz was also known to be very courageous, he lead his soldiers very successfully in all battles he fought.

* he was also known to be a highly capable military man who drew successful plans and implemented them courageously where he was able to win battles by exploiting his enemies mistakes.

*King Abdulaziz had a good knowledge and experience of Bedouin and urban lives in the Arab penesula and he also knows well the Arab tribal lineage, he could even know the tribe of a man by the first sentence he pronounces, therefore he used to treat his people according to the society they belong to.

*King Abdulaziz was very steadfast on the religion of Islam he is never apologetic in applying Islamic rules, but in spite of that he was a very kind and sensitive person.

* He was kind to all his subjects; to him all people are the same.

His death:

King Abdulaziz died on the 2^nd of Rabie Al awal 1373, corresponding to the 9^th of November 1953, after a very long struggle that influenced the Islamic and Arab worlds, and after he established his Modern I Islamic kingdom which used modern day ways of live without violating Islamic rules and principles aiming only to serve Sharia and Muslims everywhere.

In line with glory

* The 15^th of January 1902, corresponding to the 5^th of Shawwal 1319 is a mile stone in the history of the kingdom, it was the date King Abdulaziz conquered Riyadh and from that day the struggle continued to regain the kingdom of his ancestors.

* King Abdulaziz had spent more that 30 years struggling with his men to establish his kingdom by uniting its dissident parts based on the teachings of the Holy Quraan and the teachings of his prophet Mohammad (PBUH). A Kingdom that would later contribute greatly to the establishment of principles of peace for the benefit of humanity.

* the kingdom of Saudi Arabia was among the first members of the Arab league in 1945, king Abdulaziz supported Arab countries to gain independence which by then were under the colonial rule, especially the Palestinian issue.

* The king and the people of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia are very proud of serving the Two Holy Mosques and to serve their pilgrims.

* among the very important facts that impose themselves when one is evaluating the Saudi experience is the unyielding determination and the strong will to modernize and develop this country sine the time of king Aabdulaziz until the reign of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The Kingdoms history is full of high achievements in all it's stages, the country was well developed, it's economic infrastructure was well established in such a way that it was put among the most developed in the world, in addition to the development of the citizens the provision of good education. The high status of the kingdom has contributed to the activation of its role in the international arena through the UN which it was among its founding members and the other UN organizations.

* the kingdom of Saudi Arabia has great economic and political contributions which suit it's role among the international community in addition to it's role and position among the Islamic and Arab countries which drew the respect of more than a billion Muslims allover the world.

* the leaders of this country since the time of the founding father King Abdulaziz until the time of king Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz got the respect of the peoples of the world because of the role it is playing in the international arena.

Quoted from the saying of Kings of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

King Saud Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud:

Islam came to transfer us from underdevelopment and humiliation to the highest degrees, and we became the most integrated people and we were the leaders and the righteous to Allah.

Gathering of Muslims word, unification of their rows and reunion of their indifferences is the greatest, which a Muslim is working to achieve. I call all Muslims to gather their rows on right and unify their work to be like bricked wall.

King Faisal Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud

All Muslims in general and the Arabs in particular should join each other, understand and hold with Allah cord.
It is impossible that Islam contradicts with progress, as it is the religion of development, glory and dignity. Let us take the Pilgrimage (Hajj) as an opportunity to seek the way to the progress of Muslims

King Khalid Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud :

Because the strong believer is better than the weak one, we are keen to build up a sound economy of which its foundation is the Saudi citizen on whom we are building the capability to face the dealing challenges with the age achievements. This capability has ranked the highest performance.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proud to put all its capacities and recruits all its energies for the service of the pilgrims of the Holy Mosque who come to their country between their brothers.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahad :

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the Islamic nations; as it is from them and to them. It was established to raise the call for Allah. Allah has honored it by the service of his House and the Mosque of his Prophet. This is why the responsibility is increased. Its policy has become distinguished. Its policy and duties increased. While implementing these duties internationally, it performs Allah orders.

We do not allege the progress but I confirm that this country depends firstly on Allah and then on the Islamic religion. Anyone depending on the right Islamic religion, he will have his share from progress and seeking the interest of his citizens in all aspects.
Anyone who makes a comparison between what we are in: scientific, construction and medical renaissance and what we were in the past when our country was desert, he can not believe that during this record time this blessed renaissance has set up. It is due to Allah virtue and then to our holding with the Holy Qura`an and the Prophet's sunnah

Quoted from the saying of Kings of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:

King Saud Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud:

Islam came to transfer us from underdevelopment and humiliation to the highest degrees, and we became the most integrated people and we were the leaders and the righteous to Allah.

King Faisal Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud

All Muslims in general and the Arabs in particular should join each other, understand and hold with Allah cord.
It is impossible that Islam contradicts with progress, as it is the religion of development, glory and dignity. Let us take the Pilgrimage (Hajj) as an opportunity to seek the way to the progress of Muslims

King Khalid Ben Abdulaziz Al Saud :

Because the strong believer is better than the weak one, we are keen to build up a sound economy of which its foundation is the Saudi citizen on whom we are building the capability to face the dealing challenges with the age achievements. This capability has ranked the highest performance.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proud to put all its capacities and recruits all its energies for the service of the pilgrims of the Holy Mosque who come to their country between their brothers.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahad :

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the Islamic nations; as it is from them and to them. It was established to raise the call for Allah. Allah has honored it by the service of his House and the Mosque of his Prophet. This is why the responsibility is increased. Its policy has become distinguished. Its policy and duties increased. While implementing these duties internationally, it performs Allah orders.

We do not allege the progress but I confirm that this country depends firstly on Allah and then on the Islamic religion. Anyone depending on the right Islamic religion, he will have his share from progress and seeking the interest of his citizens in all aspects.
Anyone who makes a comparison between what we are in: scientific, construction and medical renaissance and what we were in the past when our country was desert, he can not believe that during this record time this blessed renaissance has set up. It is due to Allah virtue and then to our holding with the Holy Qura`an and the Prophet's sunnah

Service of Islam and Muslims

Extension of the Holy Mosque:

Since the era of King Abdulaziz, the Leaders of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cared with the improvement and extension of Makah Holy Mosque to cope with the increasing numbers of pilgrims. King Abdulaziz – may Allah be merciful to him – gave this matter the highest priority. In 1344H, he started restoration and repair of walls, columns and the Holy Mosque plate. In 1354H, he ordered to restore the whole mosque. The extension of the mosque started at the era of King Saud – may Allah be merciful to him –, and specifically in Rabi Al Akher 1375H and it was the first extension for 1096 years, since the last extension made by the Abbasside Caliph (Al Muqtader Belah) in 279H . Before the first Saudi extension, the areas of the Holy Mosque was about 28,000 Meter Square, its capacity did not exceed 50,000 prayers. This extension took ten years approximately.

The Extension of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

This project is considered the biggest to extend the Holy Mosque for 14 centuries, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque laid the corner stone of this huge project, on 2^nd Safar 1409H, corresponding to 13/9/1988G. The project extension includes the addition of a part to the mosque building from the Western side, and benefit from the roof of the holy mosque, of which its area is 61,000 meter square. Therefore, the holy mosque can accommodate about one and a half Million prayers during the Season of Hajj, Umrah and Ramadan. Additionally, two new minarets were built and the number of minarets reached to Nine. The height of each minaret is 89 Meters.

Extension and construction of the Prophet Mosque:

Since the era of King Abdulaziz, the country paid a special attention to the prophet mosque – Peace be upon him- to include the projects of extension and development. The first extension which King Abdulaziz ordered - may Allah be merciful to him – was in 1370H, where King Saud laid the corner stone to this extension by building four stones in the western wall of the mosque. The project cost was SR 70 Million. This first Saudi extension was the biggest for the prophet's mosque since its building.

As for the second extension, it was implemented at the era of King Faisal Ben Abdulaziz may Allah be merciful to him-, which is an addition of an area to the existing building from the western direction.

The Extension of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:

It is a part of the project of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques -may Allah be merciful to him – to extend and construct the two holy mosques. He laid the corner stone of this project in 9 Safar 1405H, corresponding to 20/9/1989G. This project added a new building to the existing one. It also benefited from the mosque roof area for prayer, which is about 67,000 meter square. The area of the mosque became after the extension 165,000 meter square.

The Extension of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is characterized by the following:

The increase of number of the mosque minarets from 4 to 10, height 92 meters, addition of 65 new doors to the existing 16 doors. The total became 81 doors except the entrances, which increase from 7 to 23.

Complex of King Fahad for Printing the Holy Qura`an:

At the top priorities of the Kingdom's activities for service of Islam and Muslims is its attention towards the right printing of Allah `s book, audited and these copies to be distributed to all Muslims all over the world.

the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques gave a special priority to this project as he ordered to build a medical complex in the prophet's city for this purpose. He laid the corner stone of this project in Moharram 1403H and inaugurated it in Safar 1405H. Minister of Endowments, call and guidance takes over the supervision on this complex. This project has many aims. First of all is printing the Holy Qura`an with different sizes and various qualities, of production capacity 7 Million copies annually, record the Holy Qura`an on cassettes by the reputable recites of the Kingdom's readers and some Islamic countries, and makes the complex as a specialized scientific center in research in the holy Qura`an sciences.

Saudi Aid Agencies:

Since the era of King Abdulaziz -may Allah be merciful to him – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gave the top priority to support and help the Muslims all over the world. Kingdom of Saudi Arabia made available of this support through specialized agencies established for this reason as follows:-

International Islamic Aid Agency
International Islamic World Assembly
The two Holy Mosques Establishment
Saudi Agency for collecting the donations

Foreign Policy:

Since the era of the founder King Abdulaziz , the Foreign Policy is based on principles and rooted bases taken from the rules of Islamic religion and original Arab traditions. The main characteristics of the Foreign Policy is support of Arabic and Islamic solidarity, defense of the fair Arabic and Islamic cases , service of Islam and Muslims all over the world, maintaining the international stability and peace and non interference in other countries interior affairs. On the other side, not allowing others to interfere in its affairs.

Foreign Aids:

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comes at the top of world countries concerning the offered aids in comparison with the gross national production. The percentage decided by the United Nations to the granted countries is 0.70% of its total income. The offered percentage by the Kingdom to the developing countries reached 5.45% of the annual average for the gross national production. Where as the percentage of foreign aids of the biggest industrial countries in comparison to its national production did not reach to the level given by the Kingdom.

Saudi Development Fund is considered the principal department to offer the Saudi aids to the developing countries. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia comes at the top of world countries to aid the effected from natural calamities and the civil wars that broke in some of the Arab and Muslim countries through the agencies and popular committees supported by the government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Advance of Balance of Development:

Since the era of the founder king Abdulaziz – May Allah by merciful to him – the Saudi development advance is characterized with balance, universality, guidance of the Islamic religion instruction and its noble values. The Kingdom was able to achieve the balance between the civil, construction and economic development and maintaining the religious and moral principals. During the building march, the Kingdom has implemented the five development plans successfully where it has achieved swift jumps and a civilized renaissance to reach to the fast progress. Many basic fittings have been implemented like roads, airports, facilities and other services which helped on shortening the effort and time in carrying out the giant project including the successive development plans on which expenditure augmented as well as the increase of the kingdom's income from oil.

Building and diversification of the economic base:

The Kingdom has achieved a remarkable success in the field of building and diversification of the economic base to decrease dependence on oil through the enhancement of its productive capabilities in other sectors. Gross domestic production augmented four times in non-oil productions by an average annual growth of 6%, and the non-oil contributions percentage to the gross domestic production increased from 53% to 67%. Income of Non-oil contributions in comparison to the total government revenues increase from 16% to 22%. This is due to the remarkable growth of Petrochemical exports, which spread in the world markets.

Advance of Industrial Building:

Building advance of this country is recorded with proud the position of the Kingdom in the industrial field, as the Kingdom's exports of industrial products especially the petrochemicals are marketed in about 139 countries. Furthermore, achievement of self-sufficiency in many industrial products, which were imported from abroad, has been effected. The contribution of the industrial sector in the gross national production is increasing.

Commerce:

Of course, this development and industrial growth to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will be positively reflected on commerce whether it is exports or imports. It is impossible to make any comparison between the commercial movement in the Kingdom on its foundation and today. Commerce has changed from a seasonal limited trade (depending largely on Hajj season for example) into a commerce based on economic stable bases because of the comprehensive development in various industrial, agricultural and human fields. It is noted the growth of exports in the previous twenty-five years from the beginning of the first five years development plan. Whereas the its cost reached during 1390-1391H, 1970G about SR 10,9 Billion, it jumped in 1415H , 1994G TO SR 159,6 Billion. This confirms the fact of changing the Kingdom from an imported country to all its needs to a self-sufficient but it exports the surplus in some goods and products.

The Kingdom's role in environment protection:

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia gives a special priority to conserve the environment and its development from the pollution factors, in view of the Islamic religion instructions, which aims and urges at the conservation of environment, not damaging it, benefiting from its resources without extravagance. In compliance with this way, article 33 of the basic rule regulation sets that the country is working to conserve the environment, protecting, developing and prevent its pollution. To achieve the above, the country issued a number of regulations to conserve the environment and the implementation responsibility is authorized to some ministries and concerned governmental departments. The Kingdom also followed a balanced and integrated policy during planning and implementation of the country's natural heritage programmes, to ensure that it will not have an adversely effect on the environment. The Kingdom directed its efforts to protect and grow the natural heritage especially the rare kinds, which are threatened by the extinction of the animals, plants, land and sea birds. In 1986H, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques –May Allah be Merciful to him- issued a Royal decree to establish the national organization for protection and development of the natural life. His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ben Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of defense and aviation and the general inspector, chairs its Board of Directors. Since its foundation, the organization is doing its best to implement the best regulation and the most effective to deal with the deterioration of the natural environmental system and to ensure the protection of life diversification on the national and international level.

Food Security:

During the advance of building, integration and growth The Kingdom has achieved important steps in the field of food security and self sufficiency in the main agricultural crops, especially the wheat, dates, products of dairies and chickens. The surplus is exported abroad.

Water Resources:

Regarding the development of water resources in the Kingdom, many dams were built in the different districts of the Kingdom to store the rainwater; its storage capacity is about 775 Million cubic meters. The Kingdom has directed its efforts towards the desalination plants to meet the daily needs of drinking water. It has built many desalination plants on the coat of Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf in addition to feeding of more than 40 cities and villages with electricity.

Loan Funds:

The loan funds, established by the government to make available the cash liquidity to the citizens, have achieved an increasing growth in pushing the development wheel in various fields. Loan funds recorded high figures and contributed in finance of many industrial and agricultural projects, in addition to the public investment loans and loans of the Saudi lending bank to the citizens and its achievements in pushing the development of citizens' resources. They are outstanding stations on the road of building, development and the comprehensive civil renaissance which launched with the unification advance of the founder leader King Abdulaziz Ben Abdulrahman Al Saud – May Allah be Merciful to him- . He has laid the bases, rules and objectives aiming at the progress of the country and the citizen, in an atmosphere of security, welfare and stability till Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reached to a high international rank among the big countries.

From this point, Saudi Arabian Airlines is progressing as being one of this integrated unity which is full of accomplishments increasing and growing year after year. This proves its eligibility and position among the international air companies, under the auspicious of our prosperous leader, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Ben Abdulaziz and the crown prince His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ben Abdulaziz.

Distinguishing will still be the title of "Saudia" in multiple and diversified services fields on the road of development, progress and welfare of the beloved country.

The Advance is continuing:

The above was a short profile about the life of the founder king Abdulaziz, which is full of heroic deeds , struggle, sacrifice, progress and the historical accomplishments.

After his death, his blessed sons shouldered the responsibility after him in the advance of growth and progress and support the structure of country by the guidance of Islamic Shari`a laws, and the compliance with it as a base of rule and advisory in the society. At the era of King Saud – May Allah be Merciful to him- the progress remarks appeared and integrated within the structures of many establishments and basic departments in the country.

At the era of King Faisal – May Allah be Merciful to him- the country continued in many achievements by implementing the first development plans, and the call of Islamic solidarity has been renewed for the support of the nation cases.

At the era of King Khalid – May Allah be Merciful to him – the country continued in its comprehensive development steps and implemented the second development plan and a part of the third plan. The era of King Fahad – May Allah be Merciful to him- an era of prosperity and welfare and an achievement in all fields. Here is the advance of building and welfare of the country is continuing at the era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, king Abdulla Ben Abdulaziz, - Allah support him – and the crown prince His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Ben Abdulaziz – Allah supports him and at the same road, the heroic story and the progress are continuing.

Source: www.mofa.gov.sa