Note:
Prince Saud al-Faisal died yesterday at the age of 75 following an exceptional diplomatic career that included 40 years as Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister — the longest serving foreign minister in the world. Today we are providing several posts to mark the passing of this remarkable leader.
On the Passing of Prince Saud Al Faisal (1940-2015) – SUSRIS – Jul 10, 2015
Prince Saud al-Faisal: Astute Diplomat – Siraj Wahab – SUSRIS – Jul 10, 2015
Departure of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal – SUSRIS – Jul 10, 2015
REPRINTED FROM MAY 1, 2015
Editor’s Note:
This week the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took steps into the future while also marking the end of an era. The elevation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef placed the first of the ‘second generation’ members of the House of Saud into the position of heir apparent and the naming of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman helped to lay the foundation for leadership beyond the sons of founder King Abdulaziz. Meanwhile the acceptance by King Salman of Prince Saud Al-Faisal’s request to step down for health reasons marked the end of 40 years as Foreign Minister at the helm of Saudi Arabia’s diplomacy. Among the accolades that greeted the announcement was a tribute from his American counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry:
“During four decades at the highest levels of international diplomacy, Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal helped guide Saudi Arabia through an ever-more-complicated world. I will continue to seek his counsel and value his friendship, forged over many hours spent discussing the challenges our nations face. Prince Saud has not just been the planet’s longest-serving Foreign Minister but also among the wisest. He worked with 12 of my predecessors as U.S. Secretaries of State, and was universally admired.” [“Departure of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal“]
In March 2008 Siraj Wahab, a Senior Editor at Arab News, wrote a profile of Prince Saud Al Faisal for The Diplomat magazine. The article was a snapshot into the phenomenal constancy of purpose and service to the Kingdom and in the halls of international diplomacy. We are pleased to provide Mr. Wahab’s profile here and thank him for permission to share it with you.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal: Astute Diplomat
The Saudi prince and Princeton man, tempered with more than 30 years of experience on the global stage, uses his intellect to dispute those willing to settle for simplistic generalizations.
By Siraj Wahab
A hallmark of Saudi Arabia’s presence on the global stage has been a consistent foreign policy that has not only highlighted its strong alliances with friends but also served to assert the Kingdom’s unwavering commitment to economic development, justice and the tenets of Islam. For more than 30 years, the Kingdom’s primary ambassador has been Prince Saud Al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, the minister of foreign affairs. During that time, he has represented the views of the Kingdom and helped shape the course of world events, issuing and reissuing the Kingdom’s message of peace for all nations of the world and fair, even-handed treatment for all its peoples.
It is a daunting challenge that has included decades of work on the Palestine-Israel issue, weathered wars and spread the good tidings of the Kingdom both to superpowers and less-fortunate nations needing assistance to secure better lives for their citizens. During that time, global leaders have come and gone, empires and autocrats have fallen, yet Prince Saud Al-Faisal remains at the helm of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Born in 1940 in the spectacular mountain city of Taif, which later was to become the summer seat of the Saudi government, Prince Saud Al-Faisal was imbued both with a love of nature and an intense curiosity that led him to expand his knowledge. That curiosity led him to Princeton University in the United States, where he earned a degree in economics and became a member of the exclusive Ivy Club, a group in which the prince shares a common bond with other alumni, including the late President Woodrow Wilson, former US Secretary of State James Baker and current White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolton.
Initially, his expertise in economics was put to good use for the people of Saudi Arabia in 1964 when Prince Saud Al-Faisal became a consultant to the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and a member of its High Coordination Committee. In 1970, he was appointed as deputy governor of the General Organization for Petroleum and Mineral Resources (Petromin), and in 1971, he was named Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, a post he kept until King Khaled asked him to become minister of foreign affairs in October 1975.
When Prince Saud Al-Faisal became foreign minister, the consequences of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War resonated strongly through the Middle East, and then, as now, he presented the world with the Kingdom’s concern over the plight of the Palestinian people. “Israeli occupation of Arab land continues to transform the whole region into multiple crisis zones accompanied by the dramatic suffering of Palestinians causing the spread of despair and extremism,” the prince told the UN General Assembly in a speech last September. “The Arab-Israeli conflict has overshadowed and dominated all other issues in the past six decades. No regional crisis has greater potential to affect other regional conflicts or world peace than this conflict.”
He laments the lack of resolution on this core issue of Middle East peace. “Neglecting to find a just and comprehensive solution to this conflict provides a suitable environment for the spread of extremism and terrorism and would impose a festering sore that will grow in intensity and complexity with time. As conflicts consume and squander the rich resources and capabilities of our region, they inhibit modernization, development and reforms needed for this region to play, once again, a necessary and positive role in world development.”
The prince has worked tirelessly alongside Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to advance the Arab Peace Initiative, which former US President Jimmy Carter said essentially has the same conditions first put forth in the Camp David Peace Accords crafted some 30 years ago — and largely ignored since. “Unfortunately, all efforts up to the present have concentrated on partial and piecemeal steps that achieved little, or unilateral measures that have only resulted in worsening the suffering of the Palestinian people,” the prince said.
He said the Arab Peace Initiative is an important step forward after the efforts of the Middle East Quartet — the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations — failed to advance the peace process. “The previous approach of the Quartet has only achieved limited results and effectiveness. For, it was characterized by an excess of emphasis on procedural issues, sidestepping the underlying substantive issues, which are the essence of the problem and the path for its final resolution. Clear and definite steps in accordance with a well-defined timetable that is monitored, followed up and verified on the ground by neutral observers with deviation from the course subjected to appropriate sanctions was also absent.”
He said the initiative is a solid basis for hope. “Clearly there is a need for a fresh start to overcome the previous hurdles and obstacles,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal said. “In this regard, the initiative represents a unique and historical opportunity to reinvigorate the peace process, for it provides a general framework based on international legitimacy that enables all parties to negotiate fruitfully.”
His address to the United Nations made clear not only what the people of Saudi Arabia would like to see, but also the expectations of Muslims the world over.
“The opportunity is upon us now if all of us uphold our responsibility in this regard. The Arab world has made its commitment to peace loud and clear. What is needed is for the major international powers to change their current approach. The minimum that is expected from Israel is to lift the daily suffering and humiliation of the Palestinians, and to end all settlements activities and the constructing of the wall which clearly aims to create new facts on the ground in direct and clear contravention of the principles of international law. These hostile acts make it extremely difficult to enable any Palestinian government to function effectively, or to convince Palestinians on the feasibility of peace.”
The ramifications of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda against targets in the United States continue to affect the daily lives of people around the globe. Hoping to drive a wedge between the American people and the Saudi people, the masterminds of the attack chose misguided Saudis from their ranks to execute the mass murders of people in the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the hapless passengers on the airliners hijacked for that purpose. In the direct aftermath of the attacks, due in part to the schemes of the terrorists and an international media more interested in spreading alarm than investigating the true nature of the incident, it appeared that the efforts to drive in the wedge might succeed. But thanks to the efforts of the Saudi intelligence community working closely with allied agencies and the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs articulating the government’s true position on the war on terror, the Kingdom’s aggressive stance against these deviant forces has been well-established and is now doubted by none.
“Al-Qaeda has done damage to this country,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal said in 2002 during an interview on the “Frontline” PBS news program. “They have caused bloodshed in this part of the world. Nobody supports Al-Qaeda. This is absolutely a misconception. The government is against it from Day 1. We had problems with Al-Qaeda before 9/11, as a matter of fact. They are pursued everywhere by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
A frequent visitor to New York, the prince was grieved to hear of the terrorist attack and even more aggrieved to learn about the number of Saudis involved. “You must understand how shocking it was for Saudi Arabia to have heard the news that 15 Saudis were part of that,” the prince said. “We went through a process of disbelief, utter disbelief, to deny it. And then the realization hit us fully in the face. It is not easy to wake up one day and find that your son is a mass murderer.”
He also has let the world know about the sharp distinction Saudis draw between the true Islam and the murderous ghouls of Al-Qaeda. “As we renew our commitment to the international campaign against terrorism, we warn against attempts by extremist forces and advocates of clash of civilizations and cultures theories to exploit this campaign in a way that contradicts its objectives,” he told the UN General Assembly. “It must be repeated at this point that there is no true religion which advocates the use of terrorism. The great religions of the world promote noble and peaceful values, and we should not hold the vast majority of true believers responsible for the deviant behavior of a very small minority in any religion.”
The foreign minister has also consistently urged all nations allied against terrorism to remain committed not only to the battle but also to the principles that assure freedom for all peoples.
“Saudi Arabia, Islam, and Muslims are not the enemy. Injustice and deprivation inflicted upon the Arab and Islamic world are the true breeding ground for terrorism,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal told the US Foreign Relations Council in 2004. “These are the real enemies. In the struggle against these evils, we must be partners, who, sharing the same objectives, are still able to recognize and allow for diversity. We must not fight the wrong battle; our quarrel is not with each other. Let us join forces instead against the uncivilized, the criminal, and the unjust. Let us resolve to commit ourselves to this fight, and together eradicate not only the scourge of terrorism, but the very conditions that breed it.”
Saudi Arabia’s neighbor to the north has created a variety of challenges for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for some time. Harmonious relations came crashing down when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, seizing the country and sending many Kuwaitis fleeing to seek safe haven in Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom’s response to this blatant act of aggression was never in doubt, and Saudi Arabia became a vital member of the coalition of nations that was formed to oust Saddam Hussein and return Kuwait to its people. After a successful campaign, the Iraqis retreated to their borders and an uneasy period of peace ensued.
After 9/11, the United States, fearing Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction orchestrated a plan to attack Iraq, even as the Saudi foreign minister raised concerns about the invasion plans that went unheeded. Those fears later turned out to be based on flawed intelligence. “The question that kept harping at us is what decision will the general who enters Baghdad, take that next day?” Prince Saud Al-Faisal told “Frontline.” “What’s going to happen to them (Iraqi soldiers and officials), especially since the army was disbanded, and the government fired? And who’s going to rule Iraq if you have that? This is why I say it was a matter of mathematics. Saddam Hussein had perhaps two million people keeping control of Iraq. The United States and its allies have close to 150,000 people. How do you make that work?”
Despite the failure of the United States and the United Kingdom to heed earlier warnings about invading Iraq, Saudi Arabia remains engaged, trying to assure the best possible outcome for the Iraqi people at this point. “The Saudis were very helpful in helping us to think through some of the elements about Iraq. Obviously, we have the same goal, which is an Iraq that is unified, whose territorial integrity is intact, which does not face outside interference and meddling, which is an Iraq in which all Iraqis, all Iraqi citizens, are treated equally and can count on the protection of the state without regard to religion or ethnicity,” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters in January 2007 after meetings with Prince Saud Al-Faisal in Riyadh in which she discussed a new strategy for Iraq.
“We agree with the full objectives set by the new plan, the strategy,” the prince told reporters. “This has objectives that — were they applied — will solve the problems facing Iraq. Naturally, representation requires a response from Iraqis themselves to these objectives. The responsibility, as said by President Bush, lies basically on the Iraqis to reach an agreement. Consequently, the countries — other countries can help, but the burden, the whole burden, and taking a decision will be on the Iraqis. We hope to participate as an Arab group to reach the objectives and targets of the strategy by seeking a national conciliation that opens the way to all Iraqis to acquire confidence that … the state will deal with them equally in duties and rights, to build the Iraqi institutions able to serve security, maintain security and use the Iraqi treasures to build an Iraq that can participate in the stability and growth of this region.”
Prince Saud al-Faisal and SUSRIS Editor-in-Chief Patrick Ryan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh, September 2002. (SUSRIS)
Prince Saud Al-Faisal was compassionate while speaking on the fate of the Iraqi people. “The Iraqi people have suffered a great deal from three wars in just two decades, exhausting Iraq’s resources and weakening its social fabric. Nonetheless, Iraq remains a country rich in human and natural resources that should enable the country to prosper and to meet the needs of its people,” the foreign minister said during a UN meeting on Iraq in September 2006. “Effective coordination among all donor countries and regional and international organizations will ensure that our contributions and efforts provide the greatest benefit to all.”
Since its inception in 1981, the Gulf Cooperation Council has served as a framework for its member states of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and the United Arab Emirates to jointly develop the region’s economic base. As the largest GCC member, Saudi Arabia often takes a leadership role, and Prince Saud Al-Faisal articulates the Kingdom’s positions and builds consensus among members. The GCC also serves as an important platform for the region to devise meaningful reforms in inter-member relations and business regulations to ensure a bright future for the Gulf countries.
“We in the region fully recognize the urgent need for comprehensive reforms in our countries with some variation in the speed of implementation depending on the individual social conditions,” the foreign minister told forum participants in December 2004 at an event in Manama, Bahrain, organized by the International Institute of Strategic Studies. “By comprehensive reforms I mean actual and meaningful political, economic, social and educational reforms and not merely cosmetic changes. Plans for reforms need to be prioritized and designed on a country-by-country basis meeting individual requirements. Gradual cumulative internal reforms will indeed enhance our stability and security, while implementing readily available solutions from the outside, with no regard to the particular conditions of each country, may actually threaten the very stability and security we wish to preserve.”
He leaves no doubt about the Kingdom’s commitment to a joint way forward for GCC member states. “All GCC countries need to realize that their individual and collective interests are best served by developing a clear and unified economic and security strategy and meeting the requirements of a joint and meaningful military capability as a priority,” he said. “This should in no way affect any special relationships that some or any of these countries have with others.”
He also expresses the hope that Yemen will join the GCC in the near future. “Yemen should be included in such a regional security framework for the Gulf,” the foreign minister said. “The Gulf cannot be separated from the rest of the Arabian Peninsula. The geographic and demographic size of Yemen should contribute positively to the maintenance of security and stability of the region. Yemen has developed substantial and meaningful relationships with GCC countries which would undoubtedly make it easy to attain full membership in the GCC.”
In addition to the longer-term issues that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had been handling for years, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, acting as spokesman for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, maintains the Kingdom’s overriding principles of peace and justice. “The people of Somalia have suffered too long from the ordeal of civil wars and internal divisions that resulted in the absence of stability and security,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal told the UN General Assembly in September 2007. “This necessitates that we all extend all possible efforts to help in re-establishing Somalia’s unity, security and development.”
London 11 – Saud Al Faisal John Kerry William Hague
U.S Secretary of State John Kerry poses with his counterparts from Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates before the London 11 meeting to discuss Syria in London, United Kingdom on October 22, 2013. [State Department]
Negotiations are not left up to the United Nations. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, sponsored the signing in Jeddah of the Somali national reconciliation agreement, that was hammered out during the national reconciliation conference in Somalia, asserting that this is a first step. What is important, however, is the actual implementation of the agreement with total commitment and serious work, so that Somalia can once again enjoy security, stability and prosperity. We call on all Somali parties to speedily join the national reconciliation process,” the foreign minister said. “We hope that the Arab League and the African Union will speed up coordination efforts aimed at arriving at a clear and practical plan to establish peacekeeping forces under UN command to replace the foreign troops in the country without delay and without risking a security vacuum.”
The Kingdom has been actively involved in trying to resolve the crisis in Darfur and brought the international community and the Sudan closer to resolution. “The continued humanitarian suffering in Darfur is not acceptable to all of us in the international community. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has sponsored a meeting between Sudan’s president and the UNSG during the Riyadh Arab Summit, with the participation of the Arab League and the African Union, to dispel the climate of mistrust between Sudan and the UN which inhibited effective solutions in Darfur,” the foreign minister told the UN General Assembly.
“Commending the Sudanese government for its approval and cooperation, and the UN secretary-general for his active role, we hope that all the parties will assume their responsibilities in ending violence, and that the United Nations and Sudan will refrain from taking any steps that complicate the situation even further,” the prince said. “Our mutual objective should always be achieving a lasting peace, so that the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Darfur can be met, the return of refugees can be speeded up, and reconstruction efforts can be started.”
As with all of the Kingdom’s leaders, Prince Saud Al-Faisal is committed to preparing a road that leads to prosperity for young Saudis in the years to come, providing an important liaison between the developed nations and the Kingdom. “We in Saudi Arabia firmly believe that modernization and comprehensive political, economic and social reforms are badly needed in our part of the world. We are fully aware that partial, minor and isolated reforms or cosmetic changes are not sufficient in this regard,” the prince told delegates gathered for the Forum of the Future in December 2004 at Rabat, Morocco. “Our reform efforts include municipal elections and expanding the authority of the Consultative Council. The Center for National Dialogue was established to encourage diversity, tolerance and the strong participation of women. Its latest round of discussions dealt with the issues of our youth, men and women. Also recently a group of Saudi activists of both genders formed an independent Commission for Human Rights to which all organs of government will be accountable in case of any breaches or complaints. An independent Public Prosecution Authority was also established.”
The Kingdom hopes to see a new era of cooperation between the nations of the world. “Along with the political reforms, we are pursuing an ambitious program of economic reforms. Although Saudi Arabia is fortunate in this regard, many countries in the region are in dire need of a collective effort to solve their economic problems. The industrialized countries can show the same generosity the United States showed Europe after World War II through the Marshall Plan. They can play an effective role by allocating direct foreign investments, liberalizing trade policies, opening new markets and facilitating the transfer of technology,” said Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
“The West also can encourage social interaction and exchange between the youth of our nations. Within the confines of the legitimate requirement of security, the impediments against free movement of persons between nations must be eased. To encourage shared values we need to facilitate direct contact,” he said. “As representatives of the global community, let us be pragmatic. Any modernization and reform must face strong forces pulling in opposite directions. Our leaders know that properly managing the dynamic tension between change and continuity is not only the wise road, but also the only road to pursue.”
The Saudi prince and Princeton man, tempered with more than 30 years of experience on the global stage, uses his intellect to dispute those willing to settle for simplistic generalizations. “I believe there can never be a clash of civilizations between us. It is a contradiction in terms. Civilizations are not competing products in the marketplace but rather the collective effort of human genius built on cumulative contributions from many cultures. We are all indebted to the ingenuity of great men like Bacon, Locke, Rousseau and Goethe. Who can deny the effects of the great Greek philosophers on our civilization, or the role of such Islamic thinkers as Avicenna, Al-Razi, Ibn Al-Haytham and Ibn Rushd in keeping the flames of human knowledge burning during the darkest ages, let alone the shining beacons of knowledge, from India and China? So civilization cannot be monopolized by any single nation or group,” the prince said.
“There is no argument between us either regarding the universality of the values of liberty, equality, and fraternity, or the Jeffersonian democratic ideals or the Wilsonian principle of self-determination. Our own Arab and Islamic heritage incorporates most of these values. And, considering our myriad differences, this unity of vision is quite extraordinary. If the advanced countries are to help in bringing about the transformation of the Middle East, these principles are far more powerful in their sublime inspiration than any weapons of war in inflicting fear and intimidation. By returning to these values you can win the hearts and minds of the Arab and Muslim peoples.”
— Siraj Wahab is a Senior Editor at Arab News. Write to him at sirajwahab@arabnews.com.
Read more on this topic:
Departure of Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal – SUSRIS – May 1, 2015