Saudi Arabia celebrates its National Day on 23 September each year, commemorating the unification and establishment of the Kingdom as we know it today. However, the history of Founding Day goes back three centuries, when the first Saudi state was established in 1727 under the leadership of Imam Muhammad bin Saud.
To mark the occasion, on 26 September this year. H.E. Ambassador Saad Saleh Alsaleh and his wife held a gala reception at the Sheraton Hotel in Warsaw.
The arriving guests were welcomed by their hosts – men dressed in national costumes, the most important element of which is the white thobe (called galabeya in some other Arab countries). This is a kind of tunic that is long to the ground, and on their heads they wore a ghutra, which is a triangular scarf with a red and white checkered pattern. The ghutra does not slip off the head, as it is fixed by an agal, which is a disc of densely woven goat hair.
Among the guests at the ceremony were the heads of diplomatic missions accredited to Poland, representatives of government offices and embassy representatives.
The reception opened with a speech by H.E. Ambassador Saad Saleh Alsaleh. Here is an excerpt from it:
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is undergoing a powerful development in all fields under the leadership of the Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (God rest his soul). Vision 2030, presented by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Heir to the Throne and Prime Minister (God rest his soul) strongly aspires to realise lofty concepts and projects that will move the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards a diversified economy and strengthen its position as a global leader within the G20 membership.
The realisation of the vision will also enhance human factor efficiency, quality of life and care for the environment for the achievement of sustainable development goals. We have high ambitions, such as being a candidate to host Expo 2030, and through these ambitions we aim to achieve one of the most advanced positions in the world so that we can celebrate together the achievement of the Saudi Vision 2030 goals.
We are also pleased that our Polish friends have contributed so much to the programmes and projects included in Vision 2030. It reaffirms the depth of the partnership and friendly relations that exist between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Poland; between countries that have seen continued development that realises our common interests. Our friendly countries also have plans to implement
a number of joint concepts and cooperation projects. We sincerely hope that these will be realised soon, which would open up broad prospects in the bilateral relations of both countries.
The trade exchange between the Kingdom and Poland has been steadily growing, reaching about USD 8 billion in 2022, with exports from the Kingdom to Poland amounting to USD 7 billion and from Poland to the Kingdom to USD 1 billion.
Official visits from both sides have also played an important role in strengthening relations between our countries, the most important of which was the visit of Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Saudi Arabia this past March, and a meeting with His Royal Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, heir to the throne and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, during which the prevailing bilateral relations between the two countries and the possibilities of increasing bilateral cooperation in various fields were discussed.
This past June, a meeting of the Fourth Session of the Polish-Saudi Commission for Bilateral Cooperation was held in Riyadh, during which cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Poland was strengthened in the areas of defence, energy, education, trade, investment, water, agriculture, food and transport, and cultural and tourism issues were discussed.
At the end of his speech, H.E. Ambassador Saad Saleh Alsaleh invited the guests to attend the ceremony and thanked the embassy staff for organising the meeting.
After the official part, the guests listened to live Saudi music performed by the PM Band. An interesting element of the event was calligraphy from Saudi Arabia performed by a Saudi man who engraved names on special plates at the request of the guests, and a lady who decorated guests’ hands with henna. The organisers of the celebrations also set up a traditional Bedouin tent with decorations.
There was no end to conversations and celebrations.
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