RIYADH : “ It gives me immense pleasure to extend my sincere felicitations and heartfelt congratulations to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, His Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud , Crown Prince HRH Mohammed bin Salman and the people of Saudi Arabia on the happy occasion of the National Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The contacts between the Arabs and people of Sri Lanka goes back to several centuries. Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are friendly nations that have supported each other in the international fora ever since both countries have established diplomatic relations in 1974.
This year has been an eventful year in the Sri Lanka – Saudi relations. The first ever bilateral Foreign Ministerial Visit took place in March 2022 when Foreign Minister HH Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud visited Sri Lanka ,followed by the visit of State Minister Tharaka Balasooriya in the same month to the Kingdom . We just concluded a successful visit of Hon. Naseer Ahamed ,Minister of Environment as Special Envoy of HE the President of Sri Lanka. Foreign Ministers of Sri Lanka and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had a productive meeting , a few days ago, in the margin of the ongoing UNGA session in New York.
It is also time to appreciate the support given by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) since the year 1981 for the development projects in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka has benefited over 1.5 billion Saudi Riyals (US$ 438 million) in various sectors such as road, heath , irrigation. education and community development sector.
Saudi Arabia hosts over 180000 Sri Lankans in the Kingdom. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation to the Saudi society for accommodating the Sri Lankan migrant workers and providing assistance for their welfare.
We are also impressed with the Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia’s dependence on oil and diversify its economy and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation, and tourism, announced by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Once again we wish to extend our sincere greetings to all the Saudi Nationals on the auspicious occasion of their national day.”
