a href="/myfiles/Images/2012/11/07/ki20.jpg" title="Prince Sultan Bin Salman with the guests during the launch of the revised edition of his book, "One Planet." — SG photo" Prince Sultan Bin Salman with the guests during the launch of the revised edition of his book, "One Planet." — SG photo
Saeed Al-Khotani Saudi Gazette RIYADH — "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not need propaganda to promote itself," Prince Sultan Bin Salman, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), has said. The SCTA chief made the remarks in an address to the 25th Planetary Congress Association of Space Explorers at Ritz Carlton Hotel here Monday night. Prince Sultan, who is the head of the supreme supervisory committee,inaugurated the congress as well as the 2nd Saudi International Space and Aeronautics Technology Conference 2012, which ended Tuesday."The only thing the Kingdom needs is to relay facts and tell the reality. We need to highlight the massive reforms being carried out by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques," the prince added. More than 100 experienced male and female astronauts from 19 countries attended the two events. "Attendance of this magnitude from different parts of the world reflects Saudi Arabia's stature in different aspects of development,and their presence here will be a good opportunity for them to see first hand the huge achievements the Kingdom has made in various fields," Prince Sultan said. "In fact, once my astronaut colleagues began their scientific and cultural program, and from what they read since their arrival in the Kingdom on the huge investments made in various fields, the development of human resources has got their highest admiration," he said. "What has grabbed their foremost attention was the Custodian of the Two Holly Mosques Foreign Scholarship Program through which over 150,000 Saudi students were sent to pursue higher education at top universities in more than 30 countries, " he added. The Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Aramco, Khalid Al-Falih, said his company's participation in this international scientific event was to stimulate the minds of Saudi youth in accepting science, technology and innovation. "We want to reach out to over two million young Saudis, both boys and girls, by 2020 with the objective of making the shift to a knowledge-based society and contribute to the development of technology," he said. Dr. Muhammad Al-Suwaiyil, President of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, said the interest in space in the Kingdom started in 1984 when KACST cooperated with NASA through the Challenger Mission that was aimed at exploring the Empty Quarter. This was followed by the participation of the first Saudi Arab Muslim astronaut, Prince Sultan Bin Salman, in a space trip in 1985, thus paving the way for the Kingdom's entry into the space age. Since then, the KACST was able to manufacture 12 satellites with Saudi capabilities. The congress is the second to be held in the Kingdom since Prince Sultan put the Kingdom in the space map in 1985. Dumitru-Dorin Prunario, Chairman of Association of Space Explorers,expressed thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom for hosting the congress for a second time. He stressed the importance of nations encouraging and embracing all promising capabilities to develop space research to uncover its secrets and mysteries. At the event Prince Sultan launched the revised second edition of his book entitled: "One Planet". The book tells the story of Prince Sultan's trip to the space as part of an international team of astronauts. The book is available for downloading at: http:/.scta.gov.sa/space_conference/kls.swf. Topics covered at the congress included space exploration missions and collaboration projects at the International Space Station (ISS) through firsthand accounts of astronauts, evolving trends and the future of space exploration, and "Windows on Earth," an initiative of Association of Space Explorers and the Kingdom. Over 250,000 Saudi students and their families were given access to the congress and its activities in around 30 countries through either the Saudi Cultural Channel or the websites:http://www.kacstaerospace.org, www.ase25.org. The astronauts participating in the event will tour the Kingdom's landmarks and palaces of historical and cultural significance in Riyadh, Jeddah and the Eastern Province from Wednesday. These tours also include major schools and universities, museums and student skills development associations, where they are expected to meet with people and give lectures.
