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Mouallimi Concludes 11-Year Tenure as Saudi Ambassador to UN

Abdallah Al-Mouallimi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdallah Al-Mouallimi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Mouallimi Concludes 11-Year Tenure as Saudi Ambassador to UN

Abdallah Al-Mouallimi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Abdallah Al-Mouallimi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia’s Abdallah Al-Mouallimi has concluded an 11-year tenure as the Kingdom’s top envoy to the UN. In the period he served as ambassador, Mouallimi witnessed exciting events, situations and transformations that shaped his experience.

As a brilliant speaker, Mouallimi relayed the Kingdom’s stances, initiatives, and choices in helping reinforce joint humanitarian work and promote international efforts for advancing the well-being of humanity.

Members of the permanent Saudi delegation to the UN in New York praised the period during which Mouallimi held his position as a representative of his country.

According to his fellow coworkers, Mouallimi spent “eleven years of high professionalism and sincerity in diplomatic work, in the service of his religion, his king and his country.”

Born in 1952, Mouallimi received his B.Sc. degree in chemical engineering from Oregon State University and earned a master’s degree in management from Stanford University.

Al-Mouallimi has a distinguished track record, having held senior government and executive positions over the past 30 years.

He has also served at the highest levels of the Saudi government, most notably when he was appointed to the Majlis Al-Shura, or the National Consultative Council, from 1997 to 2001.

Al-Mouallimi was appointed by royal decree to the position of mayor of Jeddah where he served with distinction until 2005.

Prior to this appointment as top envoy to the UN, Mouallimi served as Ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, and the European Union from 2007 to 2011.

Mouallimi’s representation of Saudi Arabia’s views to the international community coincided with political and economic transformations taking place in the Middle East. This called for a voice of moderate reason to find the right ways to deal with the complex issues of the region.

Mouallimi, leaning on his ingenuity in rhetoric and expressing the conscience of the society from which he stems and represents, managed to voice the position of his country clearly.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s new permanent representative to the UN and Mouallimi’s successor, Abdulaziz Al-Wasil, has presented his credentials to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Al-Wasil joined the diplomatic corps in 1999 and served in the international organizations department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Riyadh.

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Gulf

Albudaiwi: GCC States Consistently Seek to Enhance Global Security and Stability

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. SPA
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. SPA
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Albudaiwi: GCC States Consistently Seek to Enhance Global Security and Stability

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. SPA
Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi. SPA

Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Jasem Albudaiwi said that the GCC member states consistently seek to enhance security, stability, development, and prosperity to serve the mutual interests of the region's peoples and the entire world.

This comes in light of the rapid geopolitical shifts as well as growing security and economic challenges facing the globe, according to SPA.

During his participation in a panel session on GCC-European strategic links, held today in the Czech capital, Prague, on the sidelines of the GLOBSEC Global Security Forum 2026, the GCC secretary-general said: "The GCC General Secretariat’s participation in the GLOBSEC Global Security Forum 2026 embodies its keenness to maintain an active presence in regional and international forums. This engagement aims to bolster communication and exchange perspectives with international partners, decision-makers, and experts, thereby supporting efforts to maintain regional and international security while keeping pace with rapid global changes."

He also pointed out that the region has recently witnessed several events that have heavily impacted security and stability, adding that the GCC states have sustained their continuous diplomatic efforts to de-escalate and defuse tensions in the region, promoting paths of dialogue and diplomacy to protect regional security, stability, and the safety of its peoples.

The GCC secretary-general underscored the paramount importance of protecting the security of air and maritime corridors, ensuring freedom of navigation, the safety of supply chains, and the stability of global energy market.

"The stability of the Gulf region remains a fundamental pillar for the stability of the global economy and international maritime security," he reiterated.

Albudaiwi explained that recent developments have proven that the security of Europe and the Middle East has become unprecedentedly interconnected, asserting that any disruption in the Gulf region and its surrounding maritime passages directly affects the European economy, global energy security, supply chains, and international stability as a whole. He stressed that Gulf stability is no longer merely a regional matter, but has become a shared international interest.

Discussing the future of Gulf-European relations, Albudaiwi mentioned that both sides aspire to elevate their ties to broader horizons.

He added that the upcoming GCC-EU Summit will contribute to cementing cooperation across numerous fields and achieving the mutual interests of both parties, emphasizing the significance of reaching tangible results that serve both sides and elevate their ongoing cooperation.

Gulf

Saudi Arabia Says Will Not Allow Practices That Deviate Hajj from its Objectives

Security commanders are seen at the press conference in Makkah on Friday (Bashir Saleh)
Security commanders are seen at the press conference in Makkah on Friday (Bashir Saleh)
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Saudi Arabia Says Will Not Allow Practices That Deviate Hajj from its Objectives

Security commanders are seen at the press conference in Makkah on Friday (Bashir Saleh)
Security commanders are seen at the press conference in Makkah on Friday (Bashir Saleh)

Saudi Arabia said it would not allow the Hajj to be used for any activity that strays from its religious purpose, as more than 1.5 million pilgrims arrived from abroad by Friday afternoon.

He made his statement during a press conference by Hajj security commanders at the Unified Security Operations Center (911) in the Makkah region.

Officials outlined security, traffic, and organizational plans for this year’s holy pilgrimage, along with related instructions and guidelines.

Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Bassami, director of Public Security, said the Hajj security system was fully ready to carry out its duties.

“Our goal is for pilgrims to reach their destination, perform their rituals, and return home safely,” he stressed.

Al-Bassami said crowd management plans focused on regulating pilgrim flows and minimizing overlap between routes. Technology, he said, was playing a key role alongside security personnel on the ground.

He said authorities were prepared for various scenarios based on risk assessments, following extensive drills and field exercises to test the readiness of all security agencies.

Lt. Gen. Mohammed Al-Omari, commander of the Special Emergency Forces at the Presidency of State Security, described the security plans as “integrated, proactive and flexible.” He said security forces were deployed in the central area and the holy sites to protect pilgrims.

Maj. Gen. Dr. Hammoud Al-Faraj, director general of Civil Defense, said preparations for the Hajj season were complete.

“We trained all bodies involved in serving pilgrims on self-protection,” he said, adding that male and female volunteers were working alongside Civil Defense personnel across all tasks and operations.

Maj. Gen. Dr. Saleh Al-Murabba, commander of the Passports Forces for Hajj, said the “Makkah Route” initiative accounted for 30% of arriving pilgrims. He said 1,518,153 pilgrims had arrived from outside Saudi Arabia by Friday afternoon.

Gulf

Saudi, Pakistani Interior Ministers Discuss Security Cooperation

Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
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Saudi, Pakistani Interior Ministers Discuss Security Cooperation

Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)
Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz. (SPA)

Saudi Minister of Interior Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz received on Friday a telephone call from his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi for talks on issues of common interest.

They also reviewed aspects of security cooperation and coordination.