The 23rd of September commemorates an epic of accomplishments, reforms and ambitions, with expectations for which the sky’s the limit.

With the dawn of Sunday (Sept. 23), Saudis are set to witness “the joy of a nation” on the 88th anniversary of the founding of the “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” by the late King Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Bin Saud (may Allah Almighty have mercy on his soul).

On this day every year, Saudis reminisce about the magnitude of the epic of heroic battles led by the founder. With it, the march of unity, building, growth and development began. The march continued under King Abdulaziz’s sons — the late kings Saud, Faisal, Khalid, Fahd and Abdullah (may Allah have mercy on their souls).

The forward march is being sustained in the current radiant era led by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

The celebrations this year come at a time when the nation is enjoying more security and stability after successfully clipping the nails of terrorism and its supporters within the Kingdom and abroad and opening the way for building with confident steps a strong modern state led by King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman.

These steps are in line with the meticulously studied Kingdom’s Vision 2030 that aims to extricate the country from remaining hostage to the fluctuations of the price of oil. One of the Vision’s goals is to widen the Kingdom’s horizons so as to diversify the sources of national income by drawing up structural reforms and future plans.

These were in tandem with extensive decisions and major reforms to achieve the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 and its many ambitious initiatives, launched by the Crown Prince. The Crown Prince is looking forward to placing the Kingdom at the forefront of all countries, in line with the guidance and directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Despite the keenness to boost the nation’s advancement and the prosperity of its citizens, the Kingdom under Salman, the King of determination and decisiveness, has not neglected its pivotal and pioneering regional and global role. It has become the safety valve in protecting Gulf, Arab and Islamic nations and has repulsed any attempt to breach Arab national security.

So the Kingdom has stood firmly in the face of Persian expansion and has countered terrorist groups with all strength. It launched “Decisive Storm” to restore legitimacy in Yemen. The Kingdom was able to nip Farsi and Ottoman schemes in the bud. These two schemes aimed to destroy the Arab security system in order to achieve their expansionist ambitions.

Saudi Arabia has proved to the whole world that Arab brethren and Western friends are of the consensus opinion that the Kingdom — due to its status, capability and pioneering role — is capable of leading the region to safety. The best evidence for this is the Kingdom leading the Arab Coalition and then the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC), which was formerly referred to as the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT). This is due to its weight and capability, as the two Holy Mosques are located in the Kingdom. It is also in tandem with its political influence and economic strength.

The Kingdom remains an influential member of the international community. It participates effectively in international development and humanitarian relief. Saudi Arabia exerts discernable efforts in these fields, especially in the humanitarian aspect, particularly its support and contribution to alleviate the suffering of the needy due to natural disasters or wars. This is through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief). The Kingdom has won the respect and appreciation of countries and humanitarian organizations and commissions due to its aid to needy peoples in different parts of the world.

Amid the international tug-of-war, the Kingdom has remained keen to reconcile Arabs and Muslims, unify their ranks and open a new page after setting aside any conflicts that might arise between brethren and between factions.

The latest among these successful initiatives was the signing of the Jeddah Peace Agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea in Jeddah a week ago, under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. This was in the presence of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, the UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and the UN Secretary General. This ended the severing of relations for two decades and crowned the joint efforts of Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

In this connection, one must mention that Saudi-Emirati relations have established a model to be followed as to how relations between brethren ought to be in terms of visions and standing firmly in the face of challenges. All are betting that Saudi-Emirati relations will protect the region from the conspiracies and schemes being hatched against it.

The most important feature that makes Riyadh-Abu Dhabi relations so distinctive is that it has reached the stage of forging a strong strategic axis in a region prone to successive crises and hazards. The leaderships in the two countries are striving to achieve the highest level of political concordance, security coordination and economic cooperation so as to meet all challenges and counter all dangers. They also endeavor to counter all foreign meddling in the affairs of the countries in the region. There is evidence of great success and there will be more accomplishments in the future. Happy National Day!