Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Emir of Riyadh Region and chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdul Aziz Foundation for Research and Archives (King Abdul Aziz Darat), said the Darat was established to be a scientific and cultural institution concerned with serving the Kingdom's history, in loyalty to the late founder King Abdul Aziz, and in appreciation for his historical accomplishment of unifying the country and building a modern state that has become an oasis of stability, security and development. On the 40th anniversary of the Darat's creation, the Emir of Riyadh said, “Since the establishment of the Darat in 1392H (1972), it strove, with generous support from the wise leadership, to adopt numerous programs and activities aimed at collecting references of national history, keeping them safely, caring for them and providing specialist scientific services to male and female specialists, researchers and those interested within the Kingdom and abroad. “This was done from the standpoint of its conviction regarding the importance of history and interaction of generations so young generations learn the history of their country and the struggle of their fathers. The aim is also to summon the determination of these generations to continue the march with guidance and vision. The nation (Ummah) that is ignorant about its history has no prosperous present or future.” The Darat has been successful, he said. “Definitely, the success made by the Darat in the past years and the continuation of its message would not have been achieved were it not for success granted by Allah first and then the care and attention accorded by the government of King Abdullah, the Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier, and the enthusiasm and cooperation of the princes, citizens, local and international scientific institutions, university professors, and male and female researchers. “This cooperation and support that we hope would continue and be strengthened in the coming stage is supported by the scientific accomplishments of the Darat. This is also stressed by the accomplishments of the past 40 years since the establishment of the King Abdul Aziz Darat. This makes achieving the scientific and national objectives more urgent in fostering research in history that serves the national history. “This is also a call for male and female researchers to interact more with King Abdul Aziz Darat
