Anqari highlighted the significance of the University, which was the first Saudi university, and said it has been steadily going ahead on the path of progress. He noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been holding high the banner of Islam, and that it will never give up Islam. Lauding the great attention given to the University by Saudi officials, he said King Abdullah had ordered allocation of an amount of SR 4 billion from the surplus of the budget to the projects of the higher education. Speaking on the occasion, the University's Director Dr Abdullah Al-Faisal, said the University, which has been receiving generous support from the Saudi officials, has become a distinguished cultural center and a solid civilization base. He noted that the University has provided the country with more than 140,000 qualified graduates who have been positively contributing to the Kingdom's development process. "The University has become a center which includes more than 3000 highly qualified specialists in more than 400 domains of knowledge," he said Later, the Monarch watched a documentary film on the development of the university and inaugurated a number of University projects. Minister of Higher Education Dr Al-Anqari extended a shield to the King and another similar shield to Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier, Defense and Aviation Minister and Inspector General. Later, the King opened the exhibition organized on the occasion. He also laid the foundation stone for the project of the scientific oasis of King Saud University. The ceremony was attended by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Prince Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Minister of Defense and Aviation, a number of other princes and senior officials.
