At the invitation of Mr. Adel Al-Jubeir, the Foreign Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, SAPM Syed Tariq Fatemi visited Saudi Arabia to deliver a lecture to Saudi diplomats at the newly established Prince Saud Al-Faisal Diplomatic Institute in Riyadh.
In the course of his lecture, the SAPM highlighted the importance of bilateral relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which were based on common history, religion and culture. He emphasized that Pakistan’s relations with the Kingdom were of a strategic nature, particularly as they were being regularly strengthened by their shared views on regional and global matters and by the positive role played by almost 2.6 million Pakistanis in the Kingdom, who had an emotional attachment with the two Holy Mosques and the Royal Family.
The SAPM dwelt extensively on the regional and global political environment, both in the current and historical perspectives, with special focus on the role and scope of the international organizations, such as the UN, WTO and IAEA. While narrating his personal experiences of working in different countries, at important political junctures, he threw light on various historical developments in the international arena,which had changed the course of history. He also talked about the changing global order and said, “we stand today at the cusp of monumental changes”.
The SAPM referred to terrorism as one of the greatest challenges confronting the world. He said that as a subject of in-depth study, terrorism required a deeper understanding of its root causes, so as to be challenged on the intellectual plain. Any presumptuous or reductionist approach to its study could lead to dangerously wrong propositions. He informed the audience that Pakistan had been the principal victim of terrorism. Tens of thousands of Pakistanis, includingthousands of security personnel, have been martyred or injured in terrorist attacks, while the financial losses have been more than $100 Billion. He also shared with the young diplomats the highlights of Pakistan’s successful anti-terrorism campaign, involving nearly 200,000 of its security personnel. Terrorism washowever, now a global phenomenon, which must be addressed comprehensively and in all its forms, including State terrorism.
He elaborated that the international community must coordinate its efforts to accomplish the task of eliminating terrorism completely. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia could learn a lot from their respective experiences in this regard. He appreciated the efforts by Crown Prince Muhammed bin Naef, in the realm of counter-terrorism and said that such efforts needed to be emulated by other countries as well.
The SAPM urged the young diplomats to constantly strive for acquiring knowledge and development of skills, to face the challenges of modern day diplomacy,so that they could serve their country to the best of their abilities.
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