Riyadh metro: No pain, no gain (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

In Riyadh today, we are going through intolerable traffic congestion with many closures and detours. They all are adding pressure to our daily life. These problems are due to the ongoing work on the Riyadh Metro Project. However, what is important is that we have reached the point of coexisting easily with this status quo. When the project was launched first, many said that we would not be able to adapt to the situation, but they were wrong. In fact, this temporary adaptation is an indication that the policy of preparing the society was a very successful one. Today, everyone has either to manage his time in a proper way, or leave the city to live somewhere else.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/915346

Saudi-US relationship (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

US President Barack Obama is visiting the Kingdom. He is scheduled to meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosque King Salman and will also attend the Gulf Cooperation Council’s summit to be hosted by the king.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/913066

Facilitating Saudi female engineers (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

Hundreds of female engineers pass out from our universities and colleges every year to join their male counterparts in the labor market. But did we make any arrangement to enable them and provide them with job opportunities?

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/912086

Saudi women making strides (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

Ideally a university should serve as a platform that helps an individual polish his/her skills and to excel in a profession. A university also serves as the stepping-stone to the professional world. Fortunately, King Saud University is one of those top institutions, which fully prepares its students for future challenges.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/908656

A symbol of Muslim unity (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

In keeping with the royal tradition, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman will host several thousand pilgrims from 70 different countries to perform Haj and Umrah.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/901956

Criticism easier than constructive solutions (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

Authorities are taking many measures to improve the civic infrastructure of Riyadh. I strongly believe that all these development strategies should be reevaluated from time to time.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/898316

US volte-face on Middle East (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

In a recent report published in the Atlantic magazine, Obama was quoted as saying he wanted to be remembered as a man who had a doctrine, which was different from the past and future US presidents.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/896791

Time to reform our education system (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

For many decades, our political leadership has given due attention to the improvement of the Kingdom’s education system in an attempt to create well-educated generations who could confidently face challenges of the future.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/887936

Time to modernize virtue commission (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

Saudi Arabia is unique among the Muslim countries in what is called the religious police who are entrusted with the task of maintaining morality in accordance with the teachings of Qur’an. This department is called the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice or Haia.

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/880726

The art of diplomacy (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

Since assuming the post as the foreign minister, Adel Al-Jubeir has proved that he is the right man for the job. He was entrusted with this task at a critical time after the demise of Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the longest-serving foreign minister of the Kingdom.
During the last year, the Kingdom remained heavily engaged in military operation in Yemen. On the other hand, it continuously managed to diplomatically counter the negative propaganda against the Kingdom spread by the Iranian regime and its agents in the region.
Al-Jubeir, the former Saudi envoy to the United States, has to fight on various fronts. He has traveled to major world capitals and met his foreign counterparts. The foreign minister also held many press conferences at home and abroad to clarify the Saudi position regarding the ongoing military operation in Yemen, its conflict with Iran and the Syrian crisis.
He effectively made his presence felt at all major world forums. Al-Jubeir, who speaks many languages, has a clear message to convey to the whole world: The Kingdom is a central power in the Middle East and will not tolerate the Iranian regime’s interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries.
The Saudi diplomacy has tactfully tried to maintain a balance in the Kingdom’s relations with various countries including its old ally, the United States. To this end, the country’s leadership said that it was prepared to defend the Saudi interests and sovereignty by all means and to play its role in safeguarding security of the region and fighting all forms of terrorism.
Not intimidated by overt and covert Iranian threats, the Saudi authorities executed Iranian agents, who were trying to create unrest in the Kingdom, and severed diplomatic relations with Iran. It also hosted a meeting of various Syrian opposition factions to agree on a united stand in the UN-sponsored talks with the Syrian regime. To correct the imbalance in the international relations due to the Soviet military intervention in Syria and the impotent European and American policies, the Saudi diplomacy turned to China and invited the Chinese president to Riyadh this month. Throughout all these events, Al-Jubeir has played a key role. In a recent interview with a British TV channel, Al-Jubeir was frank and even aggressive in answering many questions. He said that the Kingdom was determined to protect its national security and borders and wouldn’t wait for others “to come and die for us.”
But Al-Jubeir wasn’t speaking for himself. In fact, he was speaking on behalf of every honest Arab and Muslim citizen, and he has derived this courage from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman who is the first fighter in defending our dignity.
But these wars couldn’t be won without enough preparation and determination. That’s how the war against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels is continuing unabated.

Are we really ready for competition? (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/873586

Understanding the true purpose of election. There are some magnificent Arab proverbs. One of those proverbs is: “Join the horses blonde.” (Talal Alharbi, Arab News)

http://www.arabnews.com/columns/news/870071