A Friendly Exchange
THE Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) opened its doors to invited guests at the Makati Shangri-La on September 23 on the occasion of the Kingdom’s 84th National Day. Hundreds of guests were treated to an Arabian Night of culinary delights, which was the embassy’s way of saying, “Welcome and have a good time.”
Ambassador Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Hassan, attired from head-to-toe in a white robe called thobe, welcomed guests that included former President Fidel V. Ramos, Acting Foreign Secretary Laura Q. del Rosario, Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Community Ambassador Christian Anthony Vihruri, former Sen. and Philippine Red Cross Chairman Richard Gordon, former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban and members of the diplomatic corps.
Seldom does Al-Hassan agree to interviews. He does not go around the country on sightseeing tours. He does not give himself the pleasure of dining in out-of-the-way restaurants no matter how many Michelin stars they carry.
He does not indulge in small talk. However, our brief exchange would inform readers with the things that make him busy and what keeps Philippine-Saudi Arabia relations on an even keel and good footing.
Peace and order
ASKED about Saudi Arabia’s contribution to the peace agreement in the Southern Philippines, the ambassador said: “In the field of maintaining peace and order in the Southern Philippines, the Kingdom has participated with the International Contact Group, in the meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, between the government of the Republic of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.”
He said His Royal Highness Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, vice foreign minister of the KSA, graced the signing ceremony in Manila on the comprehensive agreement.
“The Kingdom is, indeed, supportive of any efforts leading to the attainment of peace and security in the Southern Philippines under the umbrella of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.”
According to Al-Hassan, the Kingdom “is very supportive in attaining prosperity and development in Southern Philippines through the Saudi Fund for Development, which has provided $20 million for three road projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”
“It has also provided $5 million to rehabilitate Zamboanga City, which suffered recently from military devastation last year,” he added.
Asked whether Saudi Arabia monitors reports that some Filipinos are being recruited by the Islamic State in Syria (ISIS), Al-Hassan has this to say: “The position of the KSA is that it is against any terrorist organization like ISIS. Its name that starts with “Islam” as the umbrella is really tarnishing the image of Islam.”
“The KSA is against whatever form of terrorist organization, of course. The Philippine government is doing all it can to try to stop the recruitment of Filipino fighters from the Muslim sectors by the ISIS,” he added.
Al-Hassan said the Kingdom now hosts almost 1 million overseas Filipino workers (OFW).
Bonds of friendship
HE said the bonds of friendship between the Kingdom and the Philippines has been deepened by the contributions of Filipino workers in various fields, from construction, hospital help, household service workers, engineering, construction and in many other fields.
“At the official level, the two friendly countries enjoy exemplary relations of bilateral cooperation at distinguished levels in fighting terrorism and illegal drugs, as well as in interfaith dialogue between religions and civilizations, and in a unified stand toward international issues and events, exchange of support for their nominations for important international positions in the different international organizations,” he said.
Al-Hassan said the Kingdom has tough laws and protection for the welfare of all employees, a reply to our query regarding the treatment of OFWs in the Kingdom: “We have local and labor codes that are attending to any labor dispute.”
He said Saudi Arabia does not regulate the salaries of employees, as this is dependent on the agreement between employer and employees: “We’re not interfering. We leave it to them. They have all the freedom to determine the salary, which they agree upon. The KSA is totally hands off on that issue.”
However, since it could not be avoided that there are sometimes irritants or unresolved differences that transpire between the employer and the employee, and since the Philippines has asked for a more secure environment for Filipino household service workers, Al-Hassan said the Kingdom is compelled to have all contracts be authenticated and verified at the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh prior to hiring.
In the economic field, he said the volume of trade between the two countries had reached $4 billion.
“We are continuing our efforts to increase the volume of trade exchange in the near future through the efforts and initiatives of the Saudi-Philippine Business Council and Saudi-Philippine Joint Committee, which convenes its meeting once every two years,” he said.
He added that total remittances by the OFWs working in the Kingdom were estimated at $3 billion in 2013, one of the financial pillars that kept the economy afloat. “Presently, we have exemplary parliamentary cooperation through the Joint Parliamentary Friendship Committee, which is established to strengthen the parliamentary cooperation between our two friendly countries, in addition to the Saudi-Philippine Joint Technical Committee, as well as the Joint Labor Committee and Saudi-Philippine Business Council.”
Humanitarian aid
AL-HASSAN added that in the humanitarian field and in continuation of the permanent and sincere stand of the Kingdom with the people and the government of the Philippines, it has provided $400,000 to victims of Typhoon Pablo ( international code name Bopha), and $10 million to the victims of Supertyphoon Yolanda (international code name Haiyan).
This is in addition to the $10 million provided through the Saudi Fund for Development to finance various projects in the different areas in the country, of which $5 million has been set aside for the rehabilitation of Zamboanga City.
The Kingdom has also been providing a yearly supply of 100 tons of pressed dates to the Philippines.
What about that evening’s Arabian Night of culinary delights?
In the ancient tradition of Arab hospitality, the Saudi Embassy laid out a banquet of food on both sides of the huge ballroom, with each side a mirror image of the other.
There were four action stations serving whole roasted mutton on saffron-infused basmati rice; four stations of roast beef, tandoori chicken, beef lasagna, tuna tataki with leeks, and smoked salmon and condiments. There was also beef tajine with grilled vegetables, and seafood salad with passion-fruit dressing. The dip stations included servings of moutabel, hummus, pistachio, walnut, pecan, apricot, figs, mixed olives, assorted French pastries, umm ali (bread pudding), and fresh and preserved dates.
Saudi Arabia Airlines had two exclusive stations serving Arabic coffee that is drunk preferably with dates served by its flight attendants.
As if that was not enough, a lady guest who must have attended last year’s celebration, said she missed the whole roasted camel!
(Source: Business Mirror – September 28. 2014)