Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi

 

The Pakistani community in the Kingdom joined their Saudi brothers in celebrating Saudi Arabia’s 83rd National Day on Sep. 23. This celebration commemorates the unification of various parts of the Kingdom under the name Saudi Arabia by its founder King Abdul Aziz (May Allah forgive him).



This year’s celebration of National Day, which was on a Monday, was a remarkable one as government offices, schools and universities remained closed for four days. There was only one working day between the weekend holidays and National Day. Therefore, the authorities announced a public holiday for Sunday to make it a four-day holiday. This was not the case in previous years.



This contributed substantially to the creation of a grand celebration with patriotic fervor and gaiety. This was also a golden opportunity for government employees and students to leave for their native cities and villages to celebrate this auspicious occasion  with their family, friends and relatives.



Newspapers published special National Day issues. Television stations aired special programs about the great day and newscasters appeared on screen wearing stickers of the Kingdom’s national flag. Several seminars and meetings were also held to mark the occasion. Young men turned out in large numbers on streets across the country  raising the flag and chanting the Kingdom’s national slogans.



The Pakistani community in Jeddah, represented by the Pakistan Repatriation Council (PRC), organized a seminar as part of the National Day celebrations. A number of prominent figures from the community spoke on the occasion. They praised the remarkable progress achieved by the Kingdom under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. They also underscored the excellent relations between the two nations and their peoples.



The organizers invited me to be the Guest of Honor at the event. They spoke in Urdu, a language which I do not know very well. However, I was able to understand the crux of what they spoke about on the occasion.



The speech of Muhammad Amanullah, who is also a writer, was in English. In the speech, he regaled the audience with a presentation of some key statistics and information about Saudi Arabia. I would like to mention below a portion of this vital and comprehensive information about Saudi Arabia that he presented in a way that impressed all of the attendees.



1. The founder of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was King Abdul Aziz.



2. The Saudi national flag is green with the Kalimah representing Muslim dignity and integrity.



3. The Kingdom is an active member of UN, OIC, GCC and Arab League.



4. It is the thirteenth largest country in the world.



5. It is the second largest oil producing country in the world.



6. One-fifth of the world’s oil reserves are in Saudi Arabia.



7. Total oil discovered in the Kingdom is 260 billion barrels.



8. Saudi Arabia is the sixth largest gas producing country in the world.



9. The total geographical area of the Kingdom is 2.15 million square km.



10. Saudi Arabia has 13 provinces.



11. The Kingdom's GDP growth rate is six percent.



12. Its population is 29 million, including 8.5 million expatriates.



13. Women are 50 percent of the population.



14.  The nation's unemployment rate is 10.7 percent.



15. The total budget allocation is $314 billion.



16. The total budgetary expenditure is $236 billion.



17. The total budget surplus is 11.9 percent.



18. The nation's inflation rate is 4.6 percent.  



19. The total value of exports is $381 billion.



20. The total value of imports is $137 billion.



21. The Kingdom's maximum height above sea level is 9,000 feet.



22. Total agricultural land for cultivation is 400,000 acres.



23. Saudi Arabia is self-sufficient in wheat, dates, dairy products, fish and shrimps.



24. The world’s largest shrimps farm is in Saudi Arabia.



25. Main minerals available in the Kingdom are gold, silver, copper, tin, nickel, zinc, lead, phosphate, iron ore, and potassium.



26. There are 200 dams in Saudi Arabia, most of  which are small. The large dams are Wadi Jizan, Wadi Fatimah, Wadi Bisha and Wadi Najran.



27. The Kingdom has 35 universities.



28. There are 105 trillion kilowatt hours of sunlight per day in Saudi Arabia (which is equal to 10 billion barrels of crude oil).



29. The nation's literacy rate is 86.6 percent.



In my speech, I thanked PRC and its official Syed Ehsanul Haque who organized the function. I also extended thanks to all those who spoke on the occasion, especially Muhammad Amanullah, who left me with little to say about Saudi Arabia, particularly in the field of economics. I spoke about the history of the Kingdom’s unification and the great task undertaken by King Abdul Aziz. I also thanked Mr. Altaf who spoke in Arabic.



I told the attendees that I wished that they would all learn the Arabic language, and that even if they found it very difficult for themselves,  they should see to it that their children are taught Arabic. I feel distressed to see anyone who was born and brought up in the Kingdom who cannot express himself in the Arabic language, which is the language of the Qur’an and the language used by every Muslim in their prayers and worship. Arabic is also the language approved by the United Nations and all its affiliated bodies. 

– Dr. Ali Al-Ghamdi is a former Saudi diplomat who specializes in Southeast Asian affairs. He can be reached at algham@hotmail.com