The following message was contributed by Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Ahmad Y. Al Barrak on the occasion of the 82nd National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ― Ed.


The 82nd celebration of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year comes while bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea are witnessing a qualitative leap and amazing developments that have extended to all aspects of political, economic, cultural, educational and military fields. One of the most important of such developments was the meeting between President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques His Majesty King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud in Riyadh of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in early February 2012.

Fifty years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea. Marking this significant year between the two countries, we have witnessed two very important events that symbolize and well reflect the intimate relationship between the friendly peoples, and which well reflected the nature of sincere cooperation between the two countries.

The first event was when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invited the Republic of Korea as the Guest of Honor to the National Festival for Heritage and Culture 2012 or “Janadriyah Festival,” one of the most important cultural festivals where the essence of culture of Saudi Arabia as well as the Arab world as a whole can be enjoyed. The participation of the Republic of Korea has indeed left great memories to be cherished in the minds of the Saudi people and other visitors.

The second important event came when the Republic of Korea chose the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the Guest of Honor for the Seoul International Book Fair in June 2012. At the fair, a variety of cultural and youth events as well as scientific and economic seminars were held on the sidelines of the exhibition. These events clearly show the assurances of both sides and their sincere and earnest willingness to continue their relationship, with their keen effort to develop relations in line with the mutual interests and policies that bind our countries.

As has been documented, the mutual relations have witnessed steady development and remarkable cooperation in various fields stipulated in mutual agreements, talks and mutual visits by officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea. Such efforts have made the two countries’ relations among the most important international relations within half a century. The relations have been characterized by sincerity, honesty and commitment to all that has been agreed upon, without problems or misunderstandings when carrying out these promises and agreements.

The year 1962 witnessed the beginning of the establishment of Saudi-Korean diplomatic relations and the Embassy of Saudi Arabia that was opened in 1974 in Seoul, Republic of Korea, was the first Arab embassy to be established in Seoul. Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, bilateral relations in the early stages witnessed a number of achievements, with the participation of Korean experts and manpower in the Kingdom to modernize its infrastructure, mainly with the implementation of projects for roads, public buildings, water desalination, power generation, information technology and other various industrial projects.

This was indeed quite enough to make Korea more qualified ― thanks to its companies, experts and well-trained manpower ― to win a significant share of large-scale projects carried out in the Kingdom. It also paved the way to conclude more deals between the two countries to carry out such projects, based on the needs of the Kingdom and the requirements of its development. In other words, the Saudi-Korean relationship has been “full of singularity,” as was described by President Lee Myung-bak during a meeting with Saudi businessmen this year in Riyadh.

Those who examine the economies of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea, and each country’s potential and status in the global economic system, will not find themselves surprised at the solid Saudi-Korean partnership of the last 50 years, nor at their capability to create a productive environment or how they became among the members of G20 and the group of the economically richest countries in the world. The friendship between the two countries, similarity of policies and chances for integration enabled both governments to draw a road map for their bilateral relations with specifications appropriate for both sides, and help in reaching the next stage of the partnership by enhancing the yearly value added to the relationship.

A number of agreements and committees ― mainly, the Saudi―Korea Joint Committee ― that connect both countries assist in building a genuine partnership that does not exclude any activity, so that bilateral cooperation is comprehensive and responsive to the interest of the peoples of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.

Relations in the political domain have seen converging views on global issues and developments over the last 50 years.

In the field of trade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major trading partners to the Republic of Korea, where the Kingdom is the fourth-largest trading partner to the Republic of Korea, while Korea is Saudi’s fifth-largest one. There are nearly 129 joint projects and the size of trade volume between the two countries has increased over the last four years by 300 percent to $45 billion in 2011. The bilateral trade volume for this year is expected to reach $47 billion. Such extending growth in trade relations has been attributed to integration elements between the two countries.

Recently, relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have shown an important trend, thanks to the Korean experience in the field of education. A number of Saudi students have been enrolled in prestigious Korean universities and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Seoul has been opened as the first Arab-Islamic cultural office accredited to the Republic of Korea to guide and follow up on the Saudi students’ education procedures. The number of Saudi students, with various majors, has now reached over 300.

Cooperation in education has extended to exchanges and cooperation among universities of both countries. Furthermore, the contribution of sports in promoting mutual relations through various visits and matches was quite remarkable.

Lastly, I would like to note that such achievements would have not been accomplished without the kind and merciful assistance of Allah and the support and guidance from the leaderships of both countries that pay special attention to sustain and support the relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.

Thanks to Allah, the pace of the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea is moving smoothly as planned, making progress toward greater serenity and harmony.

By Ahmad Y. Al Barrak, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia