Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman presents a memento to Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, at the opening of an international conference on the history of the Kingdom’s founder, King Abdul Aziz, in Riyadh on Wednesday. (SPA)

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman attended on Wednesday the second International Conference on the History of King Abdul Aziz at a local university, which will showcase the leadership qualities and achievements of the late monarch.

Accompanied by Crown Prince Muqrin, deputy premier, King Salman was welcomed by Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar and Minister of Education Azzam Al-Dakhil. Others present at the two-day event included several princes, top officials and foreign dignitaries.

Following the ceremony, King Salman inaugurated SR3.25 billion worth of projects launched by Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University (IMSIU). They include various buildings in Riyadh, faculty housing, parking lots, and infrastructure for communications and electronic systems.

He also inaugurated a museum on Islamic science, history and technology, which was established by the university in collaboration with the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Frankfurt, Germany.

Addressing the event, Fawzan Al-Fawzan, IMSIU acting rector, said that the conference is a tribute to the global achievements of King Abdul Aziz, the founder of Saudi Arabia.

He said 92 researchers and historians from 17 countries, including Albania, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Sudan, Iraq, Turkey, the United States, Yemen, China, Algeria, India, Iran, Kuwait, Libya and Syria, are taking part in the conference.

Al-Fawzan said the conference aims to shed light on various aspects of King Abdul Aziz’s leadership qualities. The conference would also help people learn more about the Kingdom, he said. Several speakers highlighted the role the king played in the region and Islamic world.

According to Al-Fawzan, the leadership qualities of King Abdul Aziz played a significant role in the Kingdom’s unification and socioeconomic progress. His intellectual courage, wisdom, deep insight, love for his religion, and faith in his family and people became the foundation on which the country developed its economy and gained global recognition, he said.

“This country has become the focus of researchers interested in studying the life of this great leader,” he said. The previous conference was held by the university 30 years ago.

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