Saudi King Salman urges for unity to confront challenges of terrorism

King Salman in a speech in Jakarta on Thursday urged unity against terrorism and threats to internal security.

“The challenges facing the Islamic nation, particularly, and the world generally, topped by the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism, the clash of cultures, non-respect for sovereignty of countries, and interference in their internal affairs, necessitate that we stand united in confronting these challenges and coordinate stances and efforts to serve our common interests and international peace and security,” the king was quoted as saying by the SPA.

He made his remarks at the Indonesian Parliament on day two of his landmark visit to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country.

On the second day of the tour, the king visited the Indonesian House of Representatives and delivered a speech in which he expressed his appreciation to the government and people of Indonesia for the warm welcome and generous hospitality.

He signed in the record book expressing his happiness to visit the House and looking forward to increasing Islamic solidarity.

The king also visited the Istiqlal Mosque, one of the most prominent Islamic landmarks in Indonesia, where he was received by President Joko Widodo. The president presented the king a memorial gift, a belt of the Holy Kaaba for Istiqlal Mosque.

He was briefed on the establishment of the mosque and phases of its construction, as well as its role in the memorization of the Holy Qur’an and publishing of Islamic knowledge.

The king and President Widodo also met prominent Indonesian Islamic figures at the Merdeka Palace, where the president expressed his pride in the efforts by the king for serving Islam. The king pointed out that Islam is facing today a campaign seeking to undermine its values of moderation and tolerance.

On the sidelines of the visit, the Saudi-Indonesian Business Council held a meeting, on behalf of Majed Al-Qassabi, minister of commerce and investment, in which Ghassan bin Ahmad Al-Suleiman, governor of the general authority for small and medium enterprises, stressed that Saudi Arabia seeks to attract qualitative investments in accordance with Vision 2030.

The joint council witnessed the signings of several agreements of strategic partnership in the fields of energy, health, housing and tourism. The agreements are valued at SR13.5 billion.

The partnership agreements and memorandum of understanding included joint projects in electric power production sector, health care and medical services, housing projects, cooperation in the creation of long-term strategies in nationalization of expertise and advanced technology in the field of human resources.

The agreements also included tourism and Haj and Umrah services.