At the entrance of the reception line to commemorate the 2012 Saudi National Day, held at the Hotel Shilla on Sep. 24, 2012, were packed with many congratulatory wreaths which were sent from all walks of life. Notables representing various departments of society who sent their congratulatory wreaths, included chairman Y.H.Cho of Korean Air, pres. & ceo Lee Boo-jin of the Shilla Hotel, and LG CNS pres. & ceo Kim Dae-hoon etc., to name just a few.
Amb. AhmadY. Al Barrak of Saudi Arabia in Seoul welcomed and guided politely Vice Minister Han Man-hee for Land, Transport & Maritime Affairs who came to congratulate the Saudi government for its national day. Envoys from the Middle East region who were in attendance for the celebration, included Amb. Mohamed Salim Alharthy of Oman, Amb. Muteb Al-Mutoteh of Kuwait, and Amb. Khalil Al-Mosawi of Iraq etc.

▲ Amb. Barrak of Saudi (fourth from left) poses with colleague envoys to commemorate the 82nd National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, held at the Hotel Shilla on Sep. 24, 2012.

The following is an abstract from the message of Amb. Barrak on the occasion of the 82nd national day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. –Ed.

Fifty years have passed since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea. Marking this significant year between the two countries, we have witnessed two very important events that symbolize and well reflect the intimate relationship between the friendly peoples, and which well reflected the nature of sincere cooperation between the two countries.
The first event was when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invited the Republic of Korea as the Guest of Honor to the National Festival for Heritage and Culture 2012 or “Janadriyah Festival,” one of the most important cultural festivals where the essence of culture of Saudi Arabia as well as the Arab world as a whole can be enjoyed. The participation of the Republic of Korea has indeed left great memories to be cherished in the minds of the Saudi people and other visitors.
The second important event came when the Republic of Korea chose the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the Guest of Honor for the Seoul International Book Fair in June 2012. At the fair, a variety of cultural and youth events as well as scientific and economic seminars were held on the sidelines of the exhibition. These events clearly show the assurances of both sides and their sincere and earnest willingness to continue their relationship, with their keen effort to develop relations in line with the mutual interests and policies that bind our countries.
A number of agreements and committees ― mainly, the Saudi―Korea Joint Committee ― that connect both countries assist in building a genuine partnership that does not exclude any activity, so that bilateral cooperation is comprehensive and responsive to the interest of the peoples of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea.
Relations in the political domain have seen converging views on global issues and developments over the last 50 years. In the field of trade, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the major trading partners to the Republic of Korea, where the Kingdom is the fourth-largest trading partner to the Republic of Korea, while Korea is Saudi’s fifth-largest one. There are nearly 129 joint projects and the size of trade volume between the two countries has increased over the last four years by 300 percent to $45 billion in 2011. The bilateral trade volume for this year is expected to reach $47 billion. Such extending growth in trade relations has been attributed to integration elements between the two countries.
Recently, relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have shown an important trend, thanks to the Korean experience in the field of education. A number of Saudi students have been enrolled in prestigious Korean universities and the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission in Seoul has been opened as the first Arab-Islamic cultural office accredited to the Republic of Korea to guide and follow up on the Saudi students’ education procedures. The number of Saudi students, with various majors, has now reached over 300.
Cooperation in education has extended to exchanges and cooperation among universities of both countries. Furthermore, the contribution of sports in promoting mutual relations through various visits and matches was quite remarkable.