REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE RECEPTION AT THE IRISH EMBASSY, RIYADH, 12 FEBRUARY, 2006
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE RECEPTION AT THE IRISH EMBASSY, RIYADH, 12 FEBRUARY, 2006
A dhaoine uaisle go léir, cuireann sé an-áthas orm féin agus ar m'fhear céile, Máirtín, bheith anseo libh anocht.
Distinguished Guests, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Martin and I are delighted to be here in Saudi Arabia and very happy to have the opportunity to meet with you this evening at the Embassy of Ireland. On your behalf and on my own I warmly thank our Ambassador for his hospitality and I thank him and his staff also for the huge amount of work which they have invested so enthusiastically in this visit.
I am the first President of Ireland to visit the Kingdom but Irish people have been living and working here for many decades. From the 1970’s, there has been a continuous Irish presence in Saudi Arabia in a wide range of roles. Perhaps one of the most famous is Al Marai which started life as Masstock, a company run by the famous McGuckian Brothers, who come from my part of the island of Ireland. We could go back even further to 1919 when the late King Faisal as a young Prince visited Ireland and came to the house where I now live in the Phoenix Park in Dublin. The connections are many and happy ones and they have left a strong image of Saudi Arabia in Ireland.
And of course, in recent years we have a growing Muslim population in Ireland – around 20,000 at present and growing steadily. They are a welcome part of our increasingly multi-cultural Irish society for through them we grow in understanding of the world’s great family in all its rich diversity and through their contribution in many spheres of Irish life we benefit greatly from their talent and skills.
I arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday evening and spoke this morning at the Jeddah Economic Forum about the economic transformation of Ireland from a poor to a wealthy country with enviable growth rates which economists tell us are likely to continue for the next four or five years at least.
As Ireland’s economy grew, so too did its trading links with the rest of the world and tonight I thank those of you who have helped Ireland become one of the most successful open trading economies in the world. Here in the Gulf region, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is Ireland’s strongest market and with us tonight are representatives of some 35 Irish companies who are determined to make that market even stronger. The robust performance of Saudi Arabia’s economy in recent years - which looks set to continue well into the future - has brought fresh opportunities for collaborations between our two countries across the many sectors in which Ireland and Saudi excel. These opportunities have not only been for enterprises but also for education providers because of course excellence in education is something for which Ireland is rightly renowned.
If confirmation were needed of the increasing links between Ireland and this part of the world, we need only look to Gulf Air which opened a direct flight link to Dublin last December and I am delighted to hear that the Irish airline, Aer Lingus, will soon follow suit. These links so vital to commerce and tourism will be a huge bridge between out two countries and I hope the Irish and Saudi people will create considerable two-way traffic and bring two way prosperity. We hope to welcome many more Saudi citizens to Ireland’s beautiful green landscapes and its built in, completely natural, watering system - unstoppable even in Summer!
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It has been a pleasure to meet with Ireland’s sons and daughters and their Saudi Friends this evening. We know only too well that where friendships flourish so too does commerce and culture. You are Ireland’s primary ambassadors here in Saudi Arabia. It is through your daily lives as work colleagues, citizens, parents, partners that the nature and character of the Irish are revealed to the people of Saudi. You make straight the path taken by an Irish President and Martin and I are very proud that Ireland has such terrific unpaid ambassadors. Through you, Ireland knows Saudi and Saudi knows Ireland. Because of you I arrive as a stranger and am quickly a friend. I thank you for all you do to create webs of friendship for Ireland. We are lucky to have you and so is Saudi. I thank everyone here for your interest in Ireland and in sustaining the good relations between Ireland and Saudi Arabia. I wish you all a very pleasant and happy night and good luck in all that lies before you.
Guímíd rath agus sonas oraibh go léir.