On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, chaired today at King Abdulaziz International Conference Center the “Riyadh Arab-China Summit for Cooperation and Development”, in the presence of the leaders and heads of delegations of the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of China.
Before the start of the summit, memorial photos were taken for HRH Crown Prince, the leaders and heads of delegations of countries participating in the summit.
The opening session began with a recitation of verses from the Holy Quran.
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, delivered the following speech:
Your Excellency President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China
Your Majesties, Excellences, and Highnesses
Honorable guests
Peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you
We are pleased to welcome you to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the occasion of holding the first Arab-Chinese summit aimed at raising the level of joint cooperation among the member states of the Arab League and the People’s Republic of China, 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.
Your Majesties, Excellences, and Highnesses
The historical relationship 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.
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.
In order to achieve the future that our peoples aspire to, and for future generations to enjoy the desired prosperity, we must continue to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and financial fields between the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of China in their bilateral and multilateral framework, and develop political coordination on the international arena, towards regional and international issues of common concern.
Your Majesties, Excellencies, and Highnesses
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.
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.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia values the cooperation of its international partnerships with the Arab countries and the People’s Republic of 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.
We appreciate the role of the People’s Republic of China in putting forward a number of valuable initiatives, the most important of which is the Friends of Global Development Initiative, which matches many aspects of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s priorities towards supporting sustainable development and promoting food security.
Your Majesties, Highnesses, and Excellencies,
Regional and international development requires stable and secure environmental, political and social efforts, intensifying the international community’s efforts to address regional and international issues. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to exert all efforts to enhance security and stability in the region and support political solutions and dialogue to resolve regional and international conflicts.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also affirms the need for a just and permanent solution to the Palestine issue in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, in a way that guarantees the Palestinian people’s right to establish an independent state on the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and we appreciate the People’s Republic of China’s position in support of the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia also supports efforts aimed to reach a comprehensive political solution in Yemen to end the Yemeni crisis according to the three references, and we commend the support of the People’s Republic of China for Saudi initiatives towards Yemen.
The Kingdom also stresses the importance of doubling efforts aimed at finding political solutions to end the crisis in both Syria and Libya to ensure security, stability, and prosperity in the two countries, and their return to the joint Arab action circle.
Finally, we reaffirm the importance of continuing the Arab-Chinese cooperation, in a way that serves our common goals and aspirations of our peoples, and plays an effective role in the international arena, and that the results of this summit contribute to achieving the targeted positive impact in all fields, at the regional and international levels, expressing our appreciation to the Arab League Secretary-General, and the staff of the General Secretariat for their successful efforts in this regard.
The Kingdom’s official delegation included Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Energy, Prince Turki bin Mohammed bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State and Cabinet Member, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, Minister of Sports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister Interior, Prince Abdullah bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard, Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of State, Cabinet Member, National Security Adviser, Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of Commerce, Acting Minister of Media, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, Secretary to HRH the Crown Prince, Dr. Bandar bin Obaid Al-Rasheed, and Saudi Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China Abdulrahman bin Ahmed Al-Harbi.
Source: Saudi Press Agency