The passing of King Fahd and the challenges before King Abdullah

King Abdullah will be the sixth ruler of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia founded by his father King Abdul Aziz al Saud in 1932. This is their family's third kingdom on the Arabian Peninsula which they have ruled since the mid -18th century, claiming religious authority as the legitimacy for their rule based on the alliance they had established with the Wahhabis.

I had the privilege of seeing actions of late King Fahd for nearly three years from the vantage position of Bangladesh Consul General in Jeddah [1988-91]. Normally a diplomat posted in Saudi Arabia rarely gets a chance to see the Monarch. By a stroke of luck I was there during the critical days of the Gulf War, which had threatened security and peace of the Kingdom, the entire region and beyond.

The period Fahd reigned was surely marked by profound changes at domestic, regional and international levels, but to his credit he was able to keep his country on course, and under his family's rule. He steered Saudi Arabia, with a quarter of the planet's oil reserve, through a period when oil prices took a roller coaster ride. When oil prices were high, he went for breakneck modernisation by using the petrodollar. Sky scrapers, modern highway network, advanced seaports and airports were suddenly created in the desert without disturbing the Wahhabi traditions. However, sudden wealth also created new socio-economic problems and the gap between the rich and the poor widened.

Yet when oil prices fell, he tightened the national belt, all development projects were kept on hold, and more oil was pumped to pay the Kingdom's bills. The Saudis enjoyed unprecedented prosperity in 1970s and early-1980s when oil prices were high. Unfortunately for them, prices have generally declined since then, resulting in extreme slowing down of the Saudi economy. The Saudi per capita income sank to a third what had been in the past. Ironically, as Fahd was dying the oil prices were hitting an all-time high figure.

Fahd, who started as Education Minister under King Faisal, predecessor of Kind Khaled, gave priority to education and human resources development and record number of schools and universities were opened. He pushed for women's education and other modernisation schemes to the extent possible without antagonising the clerics. At the same time, he had to agree to opening of some universities and institutions by the clerics that did not teach anything beyond Islamic doctrine and ideology. The students who came

out of these institutions were ill-equipped to meet the country's job requirements and were virtually unemployable. The economic recession and dwindling employment opportunities had created deep-rooted frustrations among the Saudi youth and this, in turn, had given birth to Islamic militant groups like Al Qaeda.

In the areas of foreign relations, Fahd was a moderate, and he advocated Palestinian and other Muslim causes. He also maintained good ties with the West, particularly the United States. When he took over the reign of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia was passing through an uncertain period. The Islamic revolution in Iran and the dramatic seizure of Holy Harem Sharif in Makkah by religious fanatics had created new trauma. After the departure of the Shah of Iran from the scene, the regional military balance suddenly shifted in favor of Iraq under President Saddam Hussein. The oil-rich Gulf countries never trusted Saddam as they felt threatened by his military might. Of course, Saddam Hussein had his own reasons to attack Iran. He wanted to establish Iraqi authority over crucial Shat-el Arab water course and thus repudiate the agreement which he had signed under pressure from Shah.

I had seen Fahd for the first time in 1981 when I had gone to Saudi Arabia with the Bangladesh delegation to the Third Islamic Summit Conference. At that time King Khaled was still in charge but Crown Prince Fahd was the de facto ruler. He presided over the OIC Summit as its Chairman. Iran-Iraq war, Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, and Palestine were the three top issues. Iran had stayed away from the Summit as most of the Arab countries, with the exception of Syria, had openly supported Iraq. Nevertheless, at the initiative of Bangladesh and other members of the OIC Peace Committee, the

Summit had adopted a balanced text urging both sides to stop the war forthwith. As the Summit Chairman, Fahd conducted himself very well; he was both articulate and decisive.

When I landed in Jeddah to take up my post in mid-1988, the Iran-Iraq war had just ended and the warring parties were trying to evaluate war damages and the next steps. The times were uncertain and the entire region was observing Saddam with particular apprehension. He did receive generous economic packages from other Gulf countries but his requirements were simply enormous. When Saddam visited Riyadh next year King Fahd tried to neutralise him by signing a non-aggression pact with him. It was difficult to contain him and he started claiming oil fields in nearby Kuwait to recoup his losses. The negotiations were going on when Iraq suddenly invaded and captured Kuwait in the summer of 1990.

On the day of Iraqi invasion, 2 August 1990, I was in Cairo for the annual Islamic Foreign Ministers Conference. The Meeting was on its final leg. When the news reached us in the morning we were all dumbfounded. In consultation with Saudi and other like-minded delegations it was decided that we must put collective OIC pressure on Iraq to bring it back from this suicidal course of action.

On my return to Jeddah, I learnt that efforts were still going on to persuade Saddam Hussein to withdraw, and the Saudi Government had not officially broken the news of Iraqi invasion. Unfortunately, all bilateral and Arab League efforts failed and it appeared Iraq was poised to strike Saudi Arabia as well. Saudi Arabia was clearly unprepared to defend itself. King Fahd, despite understandable reservation of the conservatives, had to agree to the deployment of US troops on Saudi soil to protect Saudi Arabia and also to mount the multinational military offensive for the liberation of Kuwait.

Bangladesh, in the meantime, fully articulated its policy and it was necessary to convey this to all the countries in the Gulf. Jeddah was King Fahd's favorite city, and his court spent half the year in Jeddah. During the Gulf crisis, the King and the entire Saudi Government moved to Jeddah from Riyadh, as it was also further from the border. Our the-then Foreign Minister Anisul Islam Mahmood visited Jeddah in September primarily to convey our full support for, and solidarity with, the Saudi Government and people, and also to express our readiness to take part in the UN-sanctioned Multinational forces for the liberation of Kuwait. Our Ambassador in Riyadh, Major General Quazi Ghulam Dastgir, also came for the visit. We accompanied the Foreign Minister to the meetings in Jeddah. We had two separate Meetings with second Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Prince Sultan and Crown Prince Abdullah who also headed the powerful National Guard. They received us very warmly and deeply appreciated our gesture.

An audience was scheduled with the King in the evening. Since the Foreign Minister was taking the night flight to Dubai to meet the UAE leadership, we were pressed for time. Anyway, we thought it would be a short meeting and we would be through in 20 minutes as has been the prevalent practice.

What happened on that evening was simply extraordinary. The Foreign Minister, after exchange of pleasantries, presented a letter from the President which basically reiterated our principled position on the crisis and our resolve to join the multinational forces as sanctioned by the UN Security Council for the liberation of Kuwait. The King deeply appreciated this gesture and briefed us in detail about various steps he had undertaken to persuade Saddam to withdraw from Kuwait and peacefully resolve the crisis. Unfortunately Saddam had not responded positively to any of these offers.

King Fahd then emphasised how this Iraqi invasion had not only jeopardised peace and security in the region, but also weakened unity and solidarity among the Muslim countries. Although the multinational forces were getting ready to strike Iraq, the King wanted to avert the war. He said that since efforts by Arab and other regional countries had failed, he would appreciate if Muslim countries in South and South East Asia, which are far from the region, could persuade the Iraqi President to withdraw from Kuwait.

The discussion went on for about two hours and the King, who was not keeping well, took two breaks for medications. He wanted us to coordinate with Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam and make a joint appeal to the Iraqi President. He offered a Saudia plane to us for undertaking urgent consultations with our South East Asian neighbours. We profusely thanked the Monarch for entrusting us with this task and assured him that we would try our best. It was a rare privilege for any diplomat to spend so much time with King Fahd. As we were coming out of the King's Palace, my thoughts were with this statesman, an elderly Arab ruler. He was unwell, but was thinking of the great damage that Saddam and a war would bring to the Muslim world, and wanted to avert the war.

The Foreign Minister did not leave for Dubai as scheduled and instead left for Dhaka next morning by the special Saudia plane. He undertook a number of visits to our South East Asian neighbours and a joint appeal was made. Unfortunately, the Iraqi ruler did not heed that appeal. The King had known that chances of success of this initiative were rather slim, yet he had made this effort for a peaceful resolution of the issue.

Bangladesh's principled stand on the Gulf crisis had dramatic impact on our bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia and we were no longer a fellow Muslim country but an ally in the war for the liberation of Kuwait. In time, a contingent of Bangladeshi forces joined multinational forces on the eastern seaboard of the Kingdom and took part in the Gulf war which led to the liberation of Kuwait. The war reportedly cost Saudi Arabia between $ 50 to 60 billion, compounding the country's economic problems. Unfortunately presence of western forces further radicalised Al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

King Abdullah, who was the de facto ruler for the last decade, will surely push forward the unprecedented reform package which he had initiated. Most of his brothers are in seventies and eighties, and the challenge is how to open door for the younger generation, mainly grandsons, to play a meaningful role in the running of the State and how to bring more allies to the government. One issue which is attracting attention of everybody is who he selects as the second Deputy Prime Minister to succeed Crown Prince Sultan.

King Abdullah's biggest challenge, however, is how to deal with the Al-Qaeda linked terrorists. He had been cracking down on them after the series of attacks in May 2003. Thousands of militants have been imprisoned. It is also necessary to look at the socio-economic aspects of the issue. Saudi Arabia's population has increased more than five folds in the last five decades and nearly half of the country's youth are estimated to be unemployed. Large scale employment of youth would be the most effective way to divest the terrorists of popular support. The task ahead is to judiciously utilise the current windfall gain, due to unprecedented rise in oil prices, towards new labour intensive projects with a view to absorbing the unemployed youth.

The new Saudi Monarch is expected to intensify his pro-reform policies. King Fahd had appointed Consultative Assembly of 60 prominent individuals, and the number has since expanded to 120. The Assembly, a prestigious body, had limited legislative powers; it could propose new laws but their enactment would require royal assent. Nevertheless, it has been a useful vehicle to the ruler in obtaining inputs from outside the royal family. The scheme needs to be further expanded and strengthened.

During his rule as the Crown Prince, Abdullah had consistently extended firm support to Palestinian and other Muslim causes. In 1982 he had presented a plan for a just settlement of the Palestinian issue for a two-state solution, based on Israeli withdrawal from all occupied territories since 1967, including East Jerusalem, and recognition of Israel by Arab countries. Known as Abdullah Plan, it had received the endorsement of Arab and Muslim countries. Unfortunately, the western countries did not pursue the plan. The latest terrorists' attacks have once again underlined the need for restoration of peace and justice in the Middle East with a view to eliminating the popular support base of Al-Qaeda and other militant groups.

King Abdullah leads a relatively simple life and is known for honesty and frankness. He is a well-read person. Nearly two decades ago, in one of our meetings, he had mentioned that he had read that global warming would have serious consequences for Bangladesh and other Asian countries. Not too many people were aware about the issue at that time. His wisdom, balanced approach, reformist policy and steadfastness will surely help the Kingdom in this crucial period of transition.

Syed Muazzem Ali is a former Foreign Secretary.