Saudi-German Relations
King Abdullah Interviewed in Germany
Berlin, November 8 , SPA -- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz has given a wide-ranging interview to the German newspaper
"Frankfurter
Allgemeine" dealing with Saudi-German relations, the international situation in the globalization era, the Middle East peace conference, the Saudi Arabia's efforts at the regional and international levels, international issues led by the situation in the Middle East region and Saudi Arabia's role at various levels.
Following is the text of the interview of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques:
Frankfurter Allgemeine: Beginning your journey to Germany, how do you view Germany and what do you expect from Germany politically and economically? Does the history of Germany constitute a burden on our (Germany's) image in the world?
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz:
Germany is a country of an ancient history and human civilization and a minaret of intellect. Its people have the right to be proud of it. It is illogical to diminish the image of Germany and its history or to blame its people for the mistake of a dark era it had lived and the German people were its first victim as the whole world suffered form the crimes of that era. I think Germany managed to overcome this historical era to come back as a great country with its political and economic status and
contribute with great efforts to the support of international security and peace and human development. This is what we have felt through its membership and recent chairmanship of the European Union. During this period, there have been constant coordination and consultation at the level of efforts to solve the crises in our region and to bolster economic and cultural cooperation between our two countries.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: In a world where the power influence is currently shifting from the Western Europe to Asia and it is expected that the 21st century will be the century of China, can it also be the century of Arabs?
King Abdullah: I think that the globalization era we are currently living managed to cancel all political, economic and cultural borders among all countries of the world and as an international community, we have become to live in a world whose concepts transcend geographical borders and there is inter-action among its parts despite distances and various cultures. This requires from us to boost joint cooperation to achieve human development. With their civilization reservoir, deep-rooted culture and human and material
capabilities, Arabs are no doubt qualified to tangibly, essentially and importantly contribute to and participate in the world of the 21st century.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: You have been calling for reaching a comprehensive and lasting solution for the Palestinian cause and you presented the peace initiative adopted by the Arab League. The conference which will be held next month in Annapolis as a new attempt to gather parties concerned with the cause, do you expect it to succeed?
King Abdullah: The US president's initiative calling for holding the Middle East peace conference has an important element which is to tackle the main issues of the conflict which are to end the occupation: establish the independent and parts-joined Palestinian state; deal with the problem of refugees and Alquds; improve the state of the Palestinians and other issues constituting the core of the conflict. These positive elements have enjoyed the welcome of the kingdom and the Arab League. We hope the conference will deal with these
core issues and be comprehensive in solving at all tracks according to a specific time table ensuring the success of the conference after the trials have proved failure of partial solutions which dealt with the consequences of the conflict and not its core. This will ensure the success of the conference since the US State Secretary has said that failure should not be an alternative. I think that it is time to move from the phase of talking about peace as a process to establishing peace as a reality through real and tangible steps.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: At the end of last week, an international conference was held in Istanbul to discuss ways of helping the Iraqis to restore security and stability. Do you notice any progress in this field - as the Iraqi government claims - and do you think that efforts made until now to integrate the Sunnis into the political life in Iraq are enough?
King Abdullah:
There is a complete regional, Arab and international agreement on the goals of maintaining the security, stability and reconstruction of Iraq under the umbrella of its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. The only way to guarantee realizing this goal is to achieve concord and national reconciliation among all people of Iraq with all their political affiliations, religious and sectarian beliefs and ethnicities; equality among all of them with no exception in rights and duties; sharing of wealth and giving priority to the national interest regardless of narrow sectarian interests. We have the impression that this goal has not been achieved yet at the domestic front. Thus, the Iraqi government and people have a historic responsibility to double efforts to achieve national reconciliation. At the external front, the neighboring countries are required to promote these goals by not dealing with Iraq from a sectarian perspective and to help all Iraqis with no bias against any sect especially when it comes to providing financial and humanitarian help and other kinds of aid.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: Turkey is currently threatening to invade Iraq's north to chase and fight the Kurdish rebels. What is the reaction of Saudi Arabia in this case?
King Abdullah: We condemn all forms of terrorism regardless of its sources or justifications and any infiltration across borders. We hope there will be joint efforts between Iraq and Turkey to stop these acts.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: On behalf of Gulf Cooperation Council, Saudi Foreign Minister - Prince Saud
Al Faisal - presented a proposal for a multi-lateral mechanism to provide Iran with enriched uranium which it needs for its nuclear reactor. Do you think that all diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions will fail and inevitably a war between the West and Iran will eventually take place? Is a nuclear Iran a threat to the
region and the world?
King Abdullah: We are keen to make the Middle East free from nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction. The world fears that Iran's nuclear program will lead to development of nuclear arms. Iran has announced that uses of its nuclear program are peaceful. If this is the case, we see no justification for the language of escalation, confrontation and challenge which only complicates matters more.
Therefore, we call for solving this crisis peacefully through dialogue among the parties to ensure Iran's and any other country's right in the peaceful use of nuclear energy according to standards of the International Atomic Energy Agency and under its supervision. These standards should be applied to all
countries in the region with no exception.
The proposal to build a complex for enriching uranium in a neutral country is part of our diplomatic efforts to solve this crisis peacefully. This proposal is also to ensure building the complex according to the highest standards of human and environmental safety under the supervision and control of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It also ensures supplying countries with enough enriched uranium for their peaceful uses.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: In view of Lebanon's failure to reach a solution for the presidency there, are you worried about the increased tension in Lebanon? What can Saudi Arabia provide for stability in Lebanon?
King Abdullah: The tension in Lebanon is a source of great concern for us all especially in
view of the painful civil war which occurred there. Saudi Arabia is continuing its efforts at the bilateral level, through the Arab League and at the international level to solve the current disagreements and achieve national concord among the Lebanese. We hope the current efforts will solve the presidential election problem.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: Damascus has recently showed some positive signs with regard to Lebanon and Palestine. Do you actually see changes in Syria's behavior and policies ?
King Abdullah: We hope and look forward to the Syrian role to be as a peace-maker, a supporter of a solution and an assistant in achieving unity either in Lebanon or Palestine.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: Saudi Arabia has recently played the role of a leader in the
Arab world, has this formed a burden on you?
King Abdullah: The Kingdom does not seek leadership, but it undoubtedly is keen on shouldering its responsibilities and confronting the challenges facing it as a homeland, Arab world, Islamic nation and world economy.
We do not see a burden in confronting the urgent issues threatening the security of the region and the world or in the search for ways and means to enable our people to enjoy freedom and stability and to contribute to the comprehensive development of their society. We believe that this explains the meaning of responsibility and gives it reason and logic existence.
Frankfurter Allgemeine: Saudi Arabia began following serious and ambitious steps of reform in various fields. What are the next steps in this framework and what are your recommendations and advice to others in the fight against terrorism, especially the Kingdom has largely and unexpectedly succeeded in the fight against terrorism?
King Abdullah: The reform project in the Kingdom began with the foundation of Saudi modern state by late King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman who laid the frameworks of the cotemporary state. His sons, the Kings, marched on this way after him. The reform project is based on the principles of the Islamic Sharia, laws, purposes and Arab inherited traditions. It also pursues the principle of knowing prevailing views and trends in society. It is characterized by causing gradual and incremental changes in the infrastructures and the structures of the state institutions and the civil society leading to the comprehensiveness in presentation, integration in the implementation, timely programming and simultaneous preservation of the identity of the Saudi society and its deep-rooted and old heritage.
During the last two decades, Saudi Arabia has witnessed a number of reform steps
which resulted in expanding the national participation in many political, economic, social, legal, administrative, educational and other fields allowed by the regulations of basic government; bolstering the role of the Shoura Council; the election of municipal councils and the emergence of many civil society institutions which support decision making and effectively participate in performing vital roles that government agencies alone can not perform.
The kingdom will continue its reforms in cohesion with the nature of life and requirements of our times which require movement, change and renewal toward the best, God willing.
On terrorism, it remains the overwhelming danger threatening our security as an entire international community, aiming at destabilizing our peoples and countries regardless of gender, religion, ethnicity or culture. In the kingdom, we achieved major steps in confronting this phenomenon due to
unity of the Saudi people in the face of this phenomenon which is alien to Islamic values and ethics. We will not stop until we uproot this malignant scourge.
On bolstering international efforts to confront the phenomenon of terrorism, the kingdom hosted an international conference on fighting terrorism. Many countries of the world participated in it at the level of experts and specialists in their security sectors. The conference made many important and practical recommendations to develop international cooperation in fighting terrorism. We hope these recommendations will be implemented especially the one concerning the establishment of an international center for fighting terrorism allowing us to speedily exchange information, expertise and experiments in this field.
--SPA
