Saudi Arabia Underlines its Firm Stance on Achieving Regional, Int’l Peace

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Underlines its Firm Stance on Achieving Regional, Int’l Peace

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud chairs the cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)

The Saudi government underscored on Tuesday its firm stance on achieving security and stability in the region and world, reiterating its call on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards stopping Israeli violations against the people of Gaza.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud chaired the cabinet meeting that was held in Jeddah.

The cabinet also renewed the Kingdom’s stance on the right of the Palestinian people to determine their own fate and establish their own independent state according to the 1967 borders with east Jerusalem as its capital.

The ministers reviewed the contacts and talks held between the Kingdom and several friendly countries over the past week that focused on bilateral relations, regional affairs and global developments.

Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary said the cabinet praised the outcome of the second ministerial meeting of the GCC-Central Asia Strategic Dialogue. It stressed the Kingdom's commitment to fostering stronger communication channels with various nations around the world, and to promoting coordination, including within multilateral frameworks.

The cabinet welcomed the participants in the upcoming special meeting of the World Economic Forum taking place in Riyadh on April 28 and 29, which underscores the Kingdom's commitment to strengthening international cooperation and addressing global challenges.

The cabinet also welcomed the World Bank's decision to designate Saudi Arabia as a knowledge center for disseminating global economic reform practices, a recognition that reflects the Kingdom's significant progress in global competitiveness indicators.

Moreover, the cabinet highlighted the achievement of five Saudi cities that secured high rankings in the 2024 International Institute for Management Development's Smart Cities Index. It said the accomplishment is a testimony to the ongoing development and prosperity the Kingdom is experiencing in various sectors.



Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.