How will history remember Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman? In the six years since his accession to the throne as the monarch of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Salman has made his mark in governance that is clearly visible in reforms and historic achievements. The King introduced the first key reform measures in the work of the government offices and agencies to make them keep pace with the requirements of the modern time as well as changes brought about by the development of science and technology, in order to cater to human needs. It is true to say in this regard that massive reforms spearheaded by King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman ushered in a golden era for Saudi women as they made remarkable progress with regard to their status of life, their rights, and the empowerment through active participation alongside their male counterparts after their capabilities remained unused for decades. The reign of King Salman witnessed and is still witnessing Saudi Arabia's transition to a phase of work based on a clear vision — the Vision 2030, of which the architect is Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman. A few days ago, we saw, with well-illustrated figures and evidence, of what has been achieved in terms of the goals of this ambitious Vision. Saudi Arabia has reached a stage where it is headed toward accomplishing a determined and deliberate goal, which includes restructuring its economy, gradually giving up of an "addiction to oil revenues", doubling the size of the Saudi Investment Fund, containing corruption with an iron fist, strengthening the roles of the prosecution and effectiveness of the justice and judicial bodies. Human rights have also become an integral part of Saudi Arabia's planning for its present as well as for the future of its generations. Rather, the Kingdom's Vision 2030 has gone beyond the right to life to focus on the quality of life in a way achieving the overall well-being and welfare of all segments of the society. The Saudi accomplishments did not stop, but rather included several fields to keep pace with the modern era and advancements in science, rejecting advocates of extremism and hatred, and combating terrorism and violence. The outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic was the largest yardstick to measure the robustness of these reforms, modernization, and plans and programs under Vision 2030. Under the leadership of King Salman and the Crown Prince, the Kingdom has been able to withstand the fallouts of the lockdown and preventive measures and restrictions that were imposed to stem the spread of the pandemic. We have seen how the follow-up of the leadership under the theme "human first," led to the improvement in the efforts to deal with the crisis with the minimum damage while compared to other countries. Similarly, Saudi Arabia has led the oil-producing countries to maintain the stability of prices despite the confusion that cast a shadow over the global markets. The Saudi culture has also made qualitative leaps during the reign of King Salman and eventually more Saudi archaeological sites have been added to the list of the World Heritage Sites, while some of them entered the Guinness Book of Records too. Saudi sports have witnessed a return to major international events after dropping out of them since 2006, with the first Saudi team qualifying for the World Cup finals in Russia in 2018. Saudi clubs have won continental championships and qualified for the 2019 FIFA Club World Cup finals, in addition to organizing major sports events that had not happened in the homeland before. It is worthy to note that King Salman has not failed to seize any opportunities in supporting the people in their joys and sorrows, and hence it is our duty to congratulate him for all these great reforms, as he safeguarded the Kingdom in the midst of turbulent waves and troubled times in the region and the world as well. Certainly, these remarkable achievements come at a time when King Salman chairs the summit of the Group of 20 large economies in the world. The King's active and influential presence in the global arena befits the Kingdom's lofty position among the most influential countries in the world, also reflecting the amount of global appreciation that the Kingdom enjoys. — The author is a Saudi writer. Follow him on Twitter: @JameelAlTheyabi
