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Gül attends opening of S. Arabia’s first co-ed university
Jordanian King Abdullah, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Bahrain's Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Kuwait's Amir Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, who represented Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the presidents of Bangladesh, Djibouti, Mauritania, the Philippines, Somalia, Yemen and Sudan, Western officials and Nobel laureates were also present at the opening ceremony.
The ceremony in Jeddah was held on the 77th jubilee of the establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition to Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç, a committee including Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) officials and academics accompanied Gül during the visit to Saudi Arabia.
A Turkish company built the infrastructure and roads around the 36-square-mile campus which is located next to the Red Sea village of Thuwal, north of Jeddah, the Cihan news agency reported.
Western diplomats hope the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), which has attracted more than 70 professors and 800 students from abroad, will stimulate reform after recent setbacks such as shelving municipal elections and canceling cultural events opposed by clerics.
King Abdullah has promoted reforms since taking office in 2005 to create a modern state, stave off Western criticism and lower dependence on oil. But he faces resistance from conservative clerics and princes in Saudi Arabia, one of the world's top oil exporters.
Al-Qaeda militants launched a campaign against the state in 2003, blaming the royal family for corruption and opposing its alliance with the United States. It was mainly Saudis who carried out the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on US targets. Officials who back Abdullah fear that without reforms young people will be drawn to militancy in the future.
“Undoubtedly, scientific centers that embrace all peoples are the first line of defense against extremists,” Abdullah told regional leaders during the inauguration.
Supporters are presenting KAUST as a tangible gain for the king's plans, which have included more long-term projects such as an overhaul of courts, the education system and building “economic cities” to create jobs for the young population.
Following the ceremony, President Gül and Saudi King Abdullah held a bilateral meeting, the Anatolia news agency reported.
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