I wish to extend my best wishes and congratulations to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Crown Prince Salman, Interior Minister Prince Ahmed and the people of Saudi Arabia on the occasion of the Kingdom's National Day. The King of Humanity supported by the Crown Prince and the Interior Minister has made development a central focus of his reign. He has initiated a range of major economic, social, education, health, and infrastructure projects that have brought about remarkable changes throughout the Kingdom. King Abdullah has taken many decisions to improve the standards of living of citizens, and to support allocations for the nation's public sectors. On a global level, King Abdullah's participation in international diplomacy reflects the Kingdom's leadership role in defense of Arab and Islamic issues and for the achievement of world peace, stability and security. The King has played a leading role in the service of Arab and Islamic issues, and has laid the foundations for political action in Gulf, Arab, Islamic and international arenas, as well as for the establishment of global dialogue among the followers of religions, cultures and civilizations. Saudi Arabia has made major strides in illiteracy eradication over the past 40 years. “The Kingdom brought down the level of illiteracy in the country from 60 percent in 1972 to four percent in 2012,” according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education on the occasion of the World Day of Illiteracy Eradication. Saudi Arabia also made a remarkable jump of 17 positions from 58th to 41st place in the UN e-Government Survey released last March. The Kingdom is now among the top performers in e-government as an emerging e-government leader, and its commitment to increasing access to government services electronically is now accelerating at a faster pace. This was a wide effort calling on members of government sectors, including health, labor, education, and social services, to work together and establish a higher citizen-centered approach to their government portals and services. The two-day Extraordinary Islamic Summit held in Makkah in August for the enhancement of Islamic solidarity was highly commendable. I extend my wishes for peace and prosperity to King Abdullah, Crown Prince Salman, and the people of Saudi Arabia.
