– The Arab-China Summit kicked off Friday in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the two sides.
In his inaugural speech, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman said the first Arab-China Summit aims to raise the level of mutual cooperation between the Arab League member states and China to serve their common interests.
“The historical relations between the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of China is based on mutual respect, friendship and cooperation in many fields, and our countries attach utmost importance to supporting the process of development, in order to develop their economies and the well-being of their peoples,” added Prince Mohammad, who doubles as Prime Minister.
“This is achieved in a way that serves the common interests of our countries. We are also pleased to convey to you the greetings of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and his wishes for the success of the works of this summit,” he said, according to Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
“In the Arab Region, we look with great interest at the steady growth and rapid technological progress achieved by the People’s Republic of China, which has made it among the world’s leading economies. The convening of this summit establishes a new phase for advancing the relationship between our countries and strengthening partnership in areas of common interest,” he stated.
“The Kingdom of Saudi works to enhance the international cooperation to meet the challenges facing our world, and to support multilateral international action within the framework of the principles of the United Nations, in a way that contributes to achieving a promising future for peoples and future generations,” he said.
Prince Mohammad went to say that “we are aware of the challenge posed by climate change, and we believe in the need to find more sustainable and comprehensive solutions, within the framework of a balanced approach that seeks to mitigate the negative effects, while maintaining the levels of growth of the global economy, as we aim to reach carbon neutrality without affecting growth and supply chains”.
He said Saudi Arabia values cooperation of its international partnerships with the Arab countries and China, within the framework of the Green Middle East Initiative.
“We affirm our readiness to interact positively with the initiatives that enhance our joint environmental work, taking into account the development interests of the countries and the varying capabilities between them.
“As other international challenges, including food security and energy security grow, it is important to interact with serious initiatives seeking to activate the courses of cooperation and collective action,” he stated.
He stressed appreciation to the role of China in putting forward a number of valuable initiatives, topped with the Friends of Global Development Initiative, which matches many aspects of Saudi Arabia’s priorities towards supporting sustainable development and promoting food security.
He affirmed that regional and international development requires stable and secure environmental, political and social efforts, and intensifying the international community’s efforts to address regional and international issues.
Saudi Arabia carries on exerting all efforts to boost security and stability in the region, and back political solutions and talk so as to resolve regional and international conflicts, Prince Mohammad said.
He went to say that Saudi Arabia further stresses the need for a just and permanent solution to the Palestine issue, in line with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, in a way that guarantees Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He appreciated China’s position in support of the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The Saudi Prince affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supports efforts seeking to reach a comprehensive political solution in Yemen to put an end to the Yemeni crisis, in line with the three references, commending efforts of China for Saudi initiatives on Yemen.
He stressed the importance of continuing the Arab-China cooperation to serve the common goals of the two sides and meet aspirations of their peoples, calling for playing an effective role on international arena.
He hoped that the summit’s outcomes would contribute to achieving positive impacts in all fields at regional and international levels.
Source: Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)