Speech for National Day by the Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland, HRH Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf.
In the name of Allah the most graceful and most merciful
Praise to Allah, and peace be upon Mohammed, his family and all his companions.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
It is my great pleasure to welcome you all to your home in the United Kingdom: the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia. Today, we celebrate together the approaching blessed month of Ramadan and the 76th anniversary of Saudi National Day.
On these two important occasions, I am honoured to congratulate, in my name and in your names, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, his heir, HRH Crown Prince Sultan, the Saudi people and the Muslim Ummah.
Seventy six years have passed since the hand of our founding father King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, by the grace of Allah, signed the Royal Decree uniting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the banner of Islam and declaring that day a national day.
I have no doubt, brothers and sisters, that you share with me the conviction that the age of nations is not measured by years, but by the achievements they have attained. Since that day when King Abdulaziz (may Allah have mercy upon his soul) secured the allegiance of his people, we and our forefathers have marched together to build this great nation. This common bond among us is still clearly evident under the reign of King Abdullah.
My dear brother and sisters,
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has successfully achieved the required balance between the developmental needs of our great nation and the values that underpin Saudi society. Importantly, the Kingdom and its citizens have managed to keep their values in the face of massive cultural, economic and developmental changes. As a result, the Kingdom has attained a very real and visible renaissance in all areas, and has enhanced its standing amongst nations. This achievement is reflected in the strong bond between the Kingdom’s leadership and its people. The national spirit and allegiance of all citizens to the country have helped push the nation forward in prosperity and progress.
You, sons and daughters of the Kingdom, have seen with your own eyes the great achievements attained by our beloved country in all areas, thereby raising the standard of living for all Saudi citizens who are the mainstay of our great nation. Throughout the years, the Kingdom has implemented a series of well conceived development plans with notable speed which have propelled it through consecutive stages of dynamic growth.
In the area of religious affairs, the Kingdom has made great efforts to provide the best care and services for pilgrims and those who are performing Umrah. It has enlarged the Two Holy Mosques and other religious sites in the Kingdom to accommodate the growing needs of Muslims throughout the world. In addition, it has introduced rules and regulations to ensure the proper and efficient work of Haj institutions and organisations. It is clear to all of us that the Kingdom has spared nothing in the way of Dawa and spreading the word of Allah. It will continue to do so out of its belief that this is the best honour that Allah has bestowed upon the Kingdom.
In the area of economics, the Kingdom has achieved great success in building a solid and diversified economic base to secure important new sources of income and reduce its dependence on oil exports. With the help of Allah, the country has secured new revenue sources whose GNP has doubled four times. The contributions of non-oil sectors in the Saudi economy have risen sharply, enabling the Saudi economy to become the strongest economy in the region and one of the top twenty five economies of the world.
All of us may remember that last year’s budget was the largest in the history of the Kingdom. As a result, many giant projects have been launched, such as the Economic City of King Abdullah, economic projects in the cities of Madinah Al-Munawara, Al-Qassim, Hail and Jubail, the financial city in Riyadh, and the University of King Abdullah for Science and Technology.
Let us not forget the special interest and attention given by the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques to education. He launched what is called the “King Abdullah Programme for Education Abroad” to shore up education through opportunities provided to students, male and female, who are keen to continue their education in various areas. By the virtue of this programme, thousands of students have been sent to study in many foreign countries. However, this alone was not enough, as King Abdullah also instructed the relevant authorities in the Kingdom to increase the financial allocation to students by 15%. This increase will benefit in particular those students who have been sent to certain countries with a fixed rate exchange.
These decisions clearly point to King Abdullah’s endeavour to share with students their concerns and remove whatever obstacles may stand in the way of their mission. In your name, I thank the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for these generous initiatives, and pray to Allah to keep him safe and well.
Dear brothers and sisters
You know that your country has passed since its establishment, and continues to pass through various stages of reform and development. These stages have gained speed lately during the reign of King Abdullah. All of you may have noticed the great developments already attained during this period, represented in new laws, regulations, new institutions and services aimed at raising the standard of Saudi citizens and at protecting their rights. These initiatives have resulted in more openness and transparency in the media and throughout all society. We are now witnessing wider national participation and the opening of doors to women to share in the development of their country within the boundaries of custom, tradition and Islamic values.
Here, I would like to assure you that the march of reform and national development will never come to an end, but it will continue forward. Fundamentally, it is important to point out that these reforms are necessitated by the evolving needs of our society and have not been imposed on us from abroad.
These great achievements, enjoyed by the Kingdom and its citizens internally, also have served to strengthen the Kingdom’s standing internationally and in both the Muslim and Arab world. The Kingdom’s standing in the international community has been built through many years of hard work and the many positive contributions it has made in the advancement of humanity’s welfare, without losing sight of ongoing changes on the international stage, including the changing balance of power among nations.
We all know for certain that the policies of the Kingdom, since the days of its founding father, have been based on solid principles derived from Islam and Arabic values. The Kingdom strives to promote Arab and Islamic collectivism and to defend Islamic and Arab just causes throughout the world, but does so based on an important principle of non-intervention. In this regard, the Kingdom strives to be in the service of Islam and Muslims in all parts of the world and to maintain international peace and stability.
At this point, I would like to acknowledge the important historical relations between Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. These relations have been built from the start on mutual respect, and the understanding of common strategic interests. The seeds of cooperation were planted more than a century ago. In 1915, Great Britain signed a treaty with our founding father, King Abdulaziz, recognising his sovereign and historical title to the land that is now Saudi Arabia. Twelve years passed before the two countries established diplomatic relations. Since that day, the two countries have worked closely together to expand relations through a variety of cultural and economic programmes as well as cooperation and coordination in various areas and at all levels. These relations have leapt forward steadily to forge a strong partnership in maintaining peace and prosperity. For many of you, your presence here in this country is to gain knowledge and understanding, which is a testimony to these strong relations.
Dear brothers and sisters
The Kingdom has played and continues to play a major role in the service of Muslim and Arab nations, and in particular, to support the Palestinian cause. The Kingdom has always stood beside the Palestinian people and their just demand to have an independent state, with Jerusalem as its capital, and to live in peace and stability. The Kingdom has chosen to work, on this important issue, with wisdom and honesty, and refused to play political games aimed merely at scoring points in the eyes of the international community. It continues to do its duty and to support many Arab and Muslim causes, guided by religion and Islamic principles. The Kingdom always has been the first to offer assistance to its Arab brothers as this is considered a duty imposed by the brotherhood of our religion.
My dear brother and sisters
Despite all of these efforts, the Kingdom has not been safe from those misguided persons who bear grudges, nor safe from false claims that have no purpose, but to mislead people and distract them from their vital causes. I have no example better than the stand that the Kingdom recently took where it declared its views with honesty and frankness. This stand was taken by the Kingdom, not to mislead or to falsify facts, but to shoulder its responsibility before its people and the Muslim and Arab people. Its stand has proven overtime to be right, given its well-intended objectives and legitimate aims.
In a statement made to participants in the national dialogue in the Kingdom, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said: “As you gather today for a noble cause, you are all aware of the danger surrounding our nation, of the critical stage that passes through, of the pressure that faces it and the ruthless attacks that intimidate our religion and threaten our national unity and expose it to assault from enemies. This situation makes it incumbent upon every faithful citizen to do his best to face these attempts aimed at the national unity of this country, its stability and vital interests. It is incumbent upon every individual to be aware of the factors of disunity, and enmities, be they tribal, regional or intellectual differences or any form of extremism and radicalism.”
Yes, my dear brothers and sisters, our country has been a target for different circles and in many forms. What is more regrettable and injurious is to see a group of our misguided citizens committing terror attacks against our own country and people. However, their conspiracies have been repelled, by the mercy of Allah, and our country has become safe from their evil. It is our duty to stand up against every deviation from true belief, to forsake all forms of extremism and radicalism, and to work hard to protect our dear country.
On this important occasion, we also must not forget those brave men who have been faithful to Allah and have sacrificed their souls for their country: they are the martyrs of duty. We remember them today and pray for them, for they will remain always alive in our consciences, and they are alive in the paradise that Allah has promised them. We have been blessed by those heroic people who rushed to defend our great country, and took a stand of honour and glory in the face of terrorists whose ignorance led them to infringe the safety of our country, and its vital interests. Had it not been for the mercy of Allah, our country could have descended from peace and security into instability and chaos. However, we shall not allow anyone to infringe the peace of our country, the country of revelation and the birthplace of Islam. The Saudi people stood together as one around their leadership, and have lent the needed support to their brothers in the security forces who have given their all in the defence of our nation. May Allah have mercy on these martyrs, and may Allah give comfort to their families.
Each one of us has come to this country for a certain purpose, but we should never forget that we all are ambassadors of our country in this land. It is important that each of us must be the best example of what is best in our country and convey to the others the ideal image of the Saudi citizen who is proud of his country and forever faithful to his religion. We must share our cultural and religious resources in the best style and form. I can find no excuse for anyone of us to fail in this endeavour, and in particular those students, male and female, who have a golden opportunity during their stay at universities, training centres and research institutions. At the same time, I call on all of you to respect the culture and laws of our host county and to keep yourselves away from suspicious places, especially during the current seditious situation. It is incumbent upon all of us to spread the culture of tolerance and to reject extremism and radicalism.
Needless to say, it pleases me to see our students, male and female, in Europe studying hard to earn the degrees that they have come to get, and to return to our country to join in the march of development in the years ahead.
To conclude, I assure you again the doors of the Embassy are open for all, and we are here to be in your service, to remove hurdles from your way, to hear your positive comments, and to accept criticism whenever it is positive and aimed towards the general good and the interests of our valued citizens and country.
I welcome you and thank you for your presence. I pray to Allah to give us the chance to fast during Ramadan, and to do the good deeds that are expected of us in this blessed month. And I pray that Allah will show his mercy and brings back this anniversary for many years to come, where the country and its people live in prosperity and glory. I pray for Allah to keep safe our leader, the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques, and his trustful heir, and to protect our country and its citizens.
Thank you. 
