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Saudi Education Ministry Establishes Intellectual Awareness Units to Combat Extremism

Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat
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Saudi Education Ministry Establishes Intellectual Awareness Units to Combat Extremism

Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh, Asharq Al-Awsat

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Education has announced the establishment of intellectual awareness units dedicated to reinforcing values of tolerance and moderation in the kingdom and fighting all forms of extremism.

These unites will work on spreading the values of moderation, tolerance, and coexistence, and preventing extremism and addressing its effects, and encouraging scientific and research initiatives in intellectual issues, confirmed Saudi Education Minister Hamad Al-Sheikh.

Al-Sheikh asserted that the ministry recognizes the importance of promoting aware and responsible citizenship at educational institutions.

He voiced the ministry’s keenness to protect the kingdom’s education institutions from any threats that undermine their reputation.

The minister also stressed that the ministry will not allow educational institutions to be used to promote extremist ideology.

Intellectual awareness units will operate according to a specific strategy and disciplined administrative governance, explained Al-Sheikh, adding that this will help the ministry achieve its goals for immunizing and protecting education in the kingdom against extremist ideology.

The units will also implement plans, programs, activities and organize events focused on promoting tolerance and moderation among Saudis.

This initiative will help in achieving the strategic goals of Saudi Arabia’s plan for national transformation, dubbed “Kingdom Vision 2030.”

Over the years, Saudi Arabia has taken several decisions aimed at eliminating the sources of any extremism in the kingdom.

In 2016 it banned about 80 controversial books from libraries and schools.

In 2020, Al-Sheikh authorized directors of his ministry across the kingdom to remove teachers over intellectual differences.

Directors of education departments across the kingdom were given the green light to immediately turn teachers with intellectual differences from schools to administrative work until final decisions are taken against them.

More so, the education ministry is working to draft curricula in critical thinking and philosophy that are centered on developing the values ​​of freedom of thought and tolerance in the kingdom.

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Gulf

Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Phone Call from Pakistani Counterpart

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
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Saudi Foreign Minister Receives Phone Call from Pakistani Counterpart

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah

Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call from Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

During Saturday’s call, the two sides discussed the latest regional developments and related efforts.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Stresses People’s Rights in the Region to Have Peace

The Saudi flag (SPA)
The Saudi flag (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia Stresses People’s Rights in the Region to Have Peace

The Saudi flag (SPA)
The Saudi flag (SPA)

Saudi Arabia has stressed that the peoples of the region deserve a future built on peace, development, and cooperation.

Saudi Arabia participated in the Oslo Forum 2026, held under the patronage of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was represented by Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Manal bint Hassan Radwan, who took part in the main session titled “Mediation in a Turbulent Middle East.”

In her remarks, Radwan highlighted Saudi Arabia’s longstanding role in mediation and sustainable peacebuilding, stressing that the Kingdom’s approach is founded on respect for rights, human dignity, and security for all.

She noted that decades of regional power politics have imposed significant humanitarian, political, and economic costs, emphasizing that lasting stability cannot be achieved through dominance or imposed realities, but through a collective security framework based on cooperation, state sovereignty, strong national institutions, and adherence to international law.

She reaffirmed that creating an independent Palestinian state and the fulfillment of the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights remain essential to achieving lasting regional peace and integration.

In this context, she highlighted Saudi-led efforts through the Global Alliance for the Implementation of the Two-State Solution and the New York Declaration as practical frameworks for advancing peace.

Radwan also reiterated the Kingdom’s support for efforts to end the war in Gaza and implement relevant international initiatives, stressing that security and stability cannot come at the expense of sovereignty or the legitimate rights of peoples.

She underscored Saudi Arabia’s commitment to a regional security vision rooted in inclusivity, cooperation, and respect for international norms, while recognizing the contributions of China, Oman, and Iraq in supporting rapprochement with Iran and promoting regional de-escalation.

She noted that some regional actors have demonstrated a growing willingness to adapt to cooperative regional security approaches and engage in frameworks of dialogue and joint action, while Israel continues to pursue a security doctrine based on military superiority and the use of force.

She added that the continued occupation, along with annexation and settlement policies, undermines efforts to build a sustainable regional security architecture and hinders the achievement of genuine regional integration founded on equality, respect for rights, sovereignty, and international law.

Radwan emphasized that the humanitarian toll of wars, occupation, and external interference is no longer acceptable, and that the peoples of the region deserve a future built on peace, development, and cooperation.

She affirmed that Saudi Arabia will continue to work tirelessly, through its strategic partnerships and regional and international role, to advance sustainable peace and security.

Gulf

Saudi-Lebanese Security Cooperation Foils Smuggling of Nearly 4 Million Amphetamine Pills

Security cooperation between the Kingdom and Lebanon contributed to tracking and seizing the narcotic substances (Saudi Ministry of Interior).
Security cooperation between the Kingdom and Lebanon contributed to tracking and seizing the narcotic substances (Saudi Ministry of Interior).
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Saudi-Lebanese Security Cooperation Foils Smuggling of Nearly 4 Million Amphetamine Pills

Security cooperation between the Kingdom and Lebanon contributed to tracking and seizing the narcotic substances (Saudi Ministry of Interior).
Security cooperation between the Kingdom and Lebanon contributed to tracking and seizing the narcotic substances (Saudi Ministry of Interior).

Information provided by Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior helped Lebanese authorities foil an attempt to smuggle nearly 3.9 million amphetamine pills, the ministry said on Friday.

The seizure was made following intelligence shared by the Saudi ministry’s General Directorate of Narcotics Control as part of efforts to monitor criminal networks involved in drug trafficking, the ministry's security spokesperson Brigadier General Talal bin Shalhoub said in a statement.

Bin Shalhoub said cooperation between Saudi and Lebanese authorities in tracking and intercepting narcotics reflected the level of security coordination between the two countries in combating cross-border criminal networks.

Saudi Arabia will continue to pursue drug-trafficking activities that threaten the kingdom’s security and youth, disrupt smuggling operations and arrest those involved, he added.