His Excellency President Xi Jinping, the friendly President of the People's Republic of China.

  Riyadh:

Text of the speech of the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council at Riyadh Arab-China Summit for Cooperation and Development.

 

Riyadh:

 

 His Excellency Dr. Rashad Al-Alimi, chairman of the Presidential Council, delivered a speech during his participation in the "Arab-China Summit for Cooperation and Development" held today, Friday, in the Saudi capital Riyadh, with the participation of Arab leaders and heads of state and the President of the People's Republic of China, Xi Jinping. The following is the text of his speech:

 

 

My brother, His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Arab-Chinese Summit.

 

Your Excellencies and Royal Highnesses.

 

His Excellency Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit.

 

Your Excellencies and the distinguished guests.

 

Allow me at the beginning of my speech to express my sincere thanks to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, for hosting such important event in the history of Arab-Chinese relations, and for the high level of organization, warm reception, and generous hospitality, which are established traits in the Kingdom of benevolence, initiative, and generosity.

 

We also express our sincere pride and appreciation for this great country under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and its gracious people for their pioneering role and unique development, which represents an unprecedented success story inspired by the Vision 2030 of His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Saudi Prime Minister.

 

I would also like to extend my thanks and appreciation to His Excellency President Xi Jinping, the President of the friendly People's Republic of China, who has a longstanding and strong historical relationship with Yemen and its people, for his diligent efforts in making this summit a success, which serves as a platform for enhancing Arab-Chinese relations and a solid foundation for an Arab-Chinese partnership towards a bright future based on common interests, mutual respect, and non-interference in the internal affairs of countries.

 

Your Majesties, Excellencies, and Royal Highnesses,

 

This first-of-its-kind summit represents an opportunity to achieve progress, prosperity, and development for the peoples of the Arab region and the friendly Chinese people, through the formulation of a common strategy for cooperation and unified visions for peace and sustainable development.

 

We hereby confirm our great appreciation for the depth of the historical Yemeni-Chinese relations, we also value and commend Beijing's firm and supportive stance towards the legitimate government, the security and stability of Yemen, and its territorial integrity. Meanwhile , we renew our commitment to the principle of One China.

 

Undoubtedly, the convening of this summit comes in ideal circumstances to address the aspirations of our countries and peoples in a world plagued by conflicts, wars, poverty, hunger, displacement, and the v BBC implications of climate change, which require joint efforts to enhance collective solidarity and not leave less developed countries struggling alone, far from the rest.

 

Therefore, in this critical stage, we should make the most of the available regional and international initiatives, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Green Middle East, while doubling efforts in peace-making, creativity, and leadership.

 

But let me be clear moving forward with these initiatives first requires ending the conflicts and wars in the region, and at the forefront is pushing the Iran- backed terrorist Houthi militias to comply with the popular and international will and preventing blatant Iranian interventions in our affairs, as well as supplying its militias with all types of internationally prohibited weapons.

 

On our part, in the Presidential Council and the government, we will continue working with you towards the comprehensive peace that the Yemeni people deserve, in accordance with the three references: the Gulf Initiative, the outcomes of the National Dialogue, and the relevant Security Council resolutions, especially Resolution 2216.

 

Dear attendees,

 

The challenges facing Yemen, as an important link in the Silk Road legacy, with its vast land crossings, strategic ports and islands, and its coasts stretching along the countries of the region between the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Suez Canal, will be an important test for our coalition, and will remain a challenge for the entire world.

 

Therefore, this summit must represent a conscious and realistic response to these challenges that threaten our collective security, our commitments, and our responsibilities to the international community.

 

We hope to translate this into a unified strategy to address our common challenges, with a focus on supporting the Yemeni people and their national government's economic and service reforms against the extremist project of the terrorist Houthi militias, ending the worst humanitarian crisis in the world that has lasted for too long, and dealing quickly with the potential oil spill from the Safir tanker in the Red Sea, before procrastination puts us all in the face of a major crises beyond our control.

Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, Your Highnesses,

 

Dear attendees,

 

As ancient Chinese saying goes, "When a man has enough grain, he is courteous. But when he has enough food and clothing, he can distinguish between dignity and humiliation."

 

Over the past years, the war has destroyed cities and rural areas in Yemen, crushed means of livelihood, and turned the country into an active hub for exporting violence, feeding it with masses of the poor and hungry, in an attempt to turn our country into a launching point for threatening the security of the region.

 

Due to the repeated attacks by these militias on the Yemeni people and neighboring countries, the National Defense Council has decided to classify them as a terrorist organization, a step that requires your collective support as a peaceful option to revive the process of the political solution while ensuring the flow of humanitarian aid to all parts of Yemen.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to all Arab countries that supported this classification decision through the Arab League.

 

Your Majesties, Your Excellencies, Your Highnesses,

 

Our Saudi and UAE- led coalition remains one of the strongest coalition the world has known in nowadays , as they have been with us every step of the way in defending a United Nations member state.

 

 

Finally, I congratulate you on the success of the Saudi-Chinese and Gulf-Chinese summits, and I hope that our summit under the leadership of my brother, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, will achieve a similar success and serve as a unifying framework for achieving the aspirations of our peoples for development, peace, and stability.

 

 

May peace, mercy and blessings of Allah be upon you