1. Home
  2. King Salman’s vision: Stability, unity

King Salman’s vision: Stability, unity

January 24, 2015

King Salman

Jeddah, Jan 24: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman took charge as the new ruler of Saudi Arabia on Friday in a smooth transition following the death of King Abdullah and pledged to continue the current government policies to ensure stability and unity in the country.

Addressing the nation, King Salman also urged the citizens to pledge their allegiance to Crown Prince Muqrin and Deputy Crown Prince and Interior Minister Muhammad bin Naif.

“We will continue by the grace of Allah and His strength to follow the right path … and will never deviate from it. Our constitution is the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Prophet, peace be upon him,” the king said.

King Salman said all existing ministers would continue in their positions without change.

He appointed Prince Mohammed bin Salman as defense minister and head of the royal court and the king’s private secretary.

Hamad Al-Suwailem was appointed head of the crown prince’s court with the rank of a minister while Gen. Hamad Al-Ouhali was named commander of the royal guards.

He commended the services extended by King Abdullah for the nation, the wider Muslim community and the Arab world.

He also asked Allah to help him to carry out his duties in the best manner.

Quoting from the Qur’an to highlight the transience of life, the king said that everyone on earth would die and have to face their Creator. “With a heart filled with grief and sadness,” he extended condolences to the “loyal Saudi people and the Arab and Islamic nation” on King Abdullah’s death.

He said King Abdullah had dedicated his entire life to strengthen his religion, his nation and people, defending the causes of the Arab and Islamic worlds. “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return,” he said stressing the reality of death.

King Salman also urged Arabs and Muslims to seek solidarity in the face of challenges currently confronting them. He said this would be the policy of Saudi Arabia as it moves to tackle obstacles facing it.

“We will continue in this country, which Allah has honored by choosing it as the platform for His message and the Qibla (direction to which Muslims turn while praying), to boost unity and defend our nation’s causes.” He said the Kingdom would be guided by the teachings of Islam, which is a religion of “peace, mercy and moderation.”

The king added: “I ask Allah to guide me to serve our dear people, realize their hopes, preserve our country and nation’s security and stability, and to protect it from evil. He is able to do that and there is no strength except with the support of Allah.”

Meanwhile, King Salman, Crown Prince Muqrin, deputy premier, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, interior minister and second deputy premier, received at Al-Hukm Palace on Friday a group of citizens including princes and the grand mufti, who came to take their oath of allegiance on the basis of Qur’an and Sunnah.

In a statement on Friday, Prince Muqrin commended King Abdullah’s great services to the nation. He wished every success for King Salman to carry out his duties in the service of the nation and the Arab and Islamic Ummah, adding that the king’s wisdom and expertise are required to overcome the present challenges.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 23,2020

Riyadh, Apr 22: In an extraordinary initiative, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has decided to facilitate the travel of expatriates who have an exit and reentry visa or final exit visa to return to their countries.

This is in line with the order of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

According to the initiative, called “Auda” (return), expatriates can apply seeking permission for travel to their countries through the Absher portal of the ministry.

Announcing this, Saudi's Ministry of Interior said that the initiative will be implemented in cooperation with a number of relevant government agencies.

Requests for travel from expatriates will be received and approved in coordination with the relevant authorities to complete their travel procedures on board international flights.

As per the initiative, a text message will be sent to the beneficiary stating the travel date, ticket number and reservation details, and by which the beneficiary can obtain his travel ticket and complete the travel procedures.

Clarifying the procedures for the travel, the ministry said that the applicant shall select the icon (Auda) after visiting the Absher portal and fill the following fields: iqama (residency permit) number, date of birth, mobile number, departure city and airport of arrival.

It is not mandatory for the expatriate to have his own Absher account for availing of the service, the ministry said, adding that this facility is to enable expatriates to benefit from this initiative.

The departure will be through the following airports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, Prince Muhammad International Airport in Madinah, and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

Those expatriates who are outside these cities can benefit from the service through entering airport of departure after completion of their travel procedures in sufficient period of time.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
June 20,2020

Riyadh, Jun 20: Saudi Arabia will end a nationwide curfew and lift restrictions on businesses from Sunday morning after three months of lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus, state news agency SPA quoted a source in the interior ministry as saying on Saturday.

The curfew will be lifted as of 6 AM local time on Sunday. Restrictions will remain, however, for religious pilgrimages, international travel and social gatherings of more than 50 people.

The kingdom introduced stringent measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in March, including 24-hour curfews on most towns and cities.

In May, it announced a three-phase plan to ease restrictions on movement and travel, culminating in the curfew completely ending on June 21.

The number of coronavirus infections has risen in recent weeks following a relaxation of movement and travel restrictions on May 28.

The kingdom has recorded 154,223 cases of COVID-19 and a total of 1,230 deaths, the highest in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

Saudi Arabia plans to limit numbers at the annual haj pilgrimage to prevent a further outbreak of coronavirus cases, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters earlier this month.

Some 2.5 million pilgrims visit the holiest sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina for the week-long haj, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it. Saudi Arabia asked Muslims in March to put haj plans on hold and suspended the umrah pilgrimage until further notice.

Comments

Add new comment

About text formats
  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.