POLSKA - ARABIA: NOWA ERA

New Era Dawns in Saudi Ties, Says Leader of Polish Senate Mohammed Rasooldeen, Arab News RIYADH, 8 April 2008 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s visit to Warsaw in June last year has opened a new chapter in the Saudi-Polish relations, observed Bogdan Borusewicz, the visiting Polish Senate president, who met the king on Sunday. Borusewicz, who wrapped up a four-day visit to the Kingdom, was leading a 50-member delegation comprising parliamentarians and businessmen with the aim of strengthening the political and trade relations with the Kingdom. Besides meeting the businessmen in Riyadh, the senator paid a courtesy call on King Abdullah and met with Saleh Bin-Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council, and Turki Al-Sudairy, chairman of the Human Rights Commission. Borusewicz indicated that death sentence on minors and the issue of women’s rights were raised during discussions with HRC officials. “There is an enormous amount of work involved for the organization to resolve some of these problems through judicial reforms,” he said. Borusewicz also pointed out that there are few discrepancies between Shariah law and the International Human Rights Law to which the Kingdom is a signatory. “Saudi Arabia has become a household word in Poland because of this miraculous surgery which was performed free of charge,” Borusewicz said, referring to a recent separation surgery for a pair of Polish conjoined twins, paid for by the king. “The king’s magnanimity has enabled the twins to lead a normal life.” During his talks with the Saudi officials, Borusewicz said that the two parties showed concern on the prevailing issues in the region that included the problems in Iraq, Palestine, Syria and Lebanon and discussed how best the two countries could cooperate with each other toward solving these problems. During his meeting with Bin-Humaid on Sunday, the senator extended an invitation to a parliamentary delegation from Saudi Arabia to visit Poland. Polish Ambassador Adam Kulach told Arab News that this was a significant visit since the delegates would carry goodwill messages from the people of Saudi Arabia to their own countrymen. He pointed out that his country attaches great importance to its relationship with the Kingdom since Saudi Arabia remains its strategic partner in the region.