Isam MAHGOUB

In 1999 I accompanied, as translator, the first Saudi Parliamentary delegation that visited Romania, led by Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim Al Jubeiri, the President of the Shura Council, at that time.
Once, upon his request, I talked to him about the Romanian-Arabic relations, also touching the issue of oil. At first, I talked to him extensively about the development of the relations with the Arab countries until 1989 and their immediate downfall afterwards, or, at best, their stagnation, just like stepping twice in the same place. I then switched to what I thought would be of interest to him and I talked to him about crude oil, oil fields, reserves, production and about Romania’s partnership with other countries within oil projects, how it built, for example, refineries in Syria, storage reservoirs and pipes in Libya and especially in Sudan, before the local production began. Then, the conversation took us to the causes that led to Romania’s withdrawal from markets in which it had invested so much to conquer. I saw that my interlocutors were surprised, especially when I talked about China, who, using a technique available only to USA and Romania, entered with billions of dollars in the Sudanese oil sector, which back then was at the beginning. The surprise of my interlocutors vanished after a short intervention of Sheikh Al Jubeiri who stated: ”This is an understandable change and one day, Saudi Arabia itself will turn to the East, towards China.”
In that period, Romania was recording high incomes from the indirect export of services and goods, attracting tourists from the Western Europe and from Scandinavian countries, besides those from former socialist countries. Of course, there were also many Arab tourists, but no wealthy citizens from the Gulf area, because Romania didn’t do much to attract their attention for some objective reasons and others that Bucharest hadn’t invented, but nothing much was done to overcome them.
The question that haunted me even back then was: where are the Saudis, how can Romania attract them? It is easily understandable that without the Saudi market, Romania cannot talk about openness to the Gulf countries or about conquering markets there. It seems that this was also on the mind of Romanian president, Ion Iliescu, after removing the main drawback through the fundamental change that occurred in Romania at the beginning of the ’90s. After his election in May 1990 as President of a Democratic Romania, free of communism, he sent in September the deputy of the minister of foreign affairs in his first visit of a Romanian official in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as messenger, bearing a letter to the regretted King Fahd Bin Abdulaziz. The Romanian president expressed his wish to establish relations between the two countries and nations and put forward the wish of his country towards the establishment and development of friendship and economic collaboration with the Kingdom and exchange of diplomatic representatives. After six months, the same Romanian official made a second visit to the Kingdom, to continue the efforts which were successfully concluded by signing the Diplomatic Representatives Exchange Agreement in 1992, after which the Romanian embassy in Riyādh was opened in 1996 and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia embassy in Bucharest, in December 2002.
Diplomacy, if not converted into figures, and if the figures do not reflect the development of the commercial and economic exchanges between two countries, whichever they may be, is an incomplete and faulty diplomacy, unable to serve the interests of the two countries, especially when their economies are complementary and may promote the ”quid pro quo” policy (do ut des), through successive transfer flows of persons, goods and services and not the least culture, for an optimal mutual understanding.
My friend, the ambassador who just left Romania to take over a new mission to Moscow was worried about the paradox that despite the good diplomatic and political relations between the two countries, there was no audacious advancement toward strengthening the economical collaboration. Moreover, he was probably saddened by the inability to compensate by focusing on the cultural and scientific field, which is a fertile ground, as His Excellency used to say: ”The collaboration in the cultural and scientific field between the Kingdom and Romania has not reached the desired level.”
Otherwise, I hope that the result of the partial alternation power after the elections in November 2014 will be at least similar to the 2004-2008 governance, if not even close to the 2000-2004 period, because I think both governments led the country on the right path. However, I will leave the task of unlocking the future of the country in the following two decades to others, more worthy than myself, to bring their input, maybe they have more information to read Romania’s future, I can only dare to focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that became, during the era of the regretted King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz an open book, facilitating the mission of those who want to decipher its future, while the openness and dialog with the four corners of the world provide the rationale necessary for a successful interpretation, besides the clarification brought by the heritage to the throne to his brother, King Salman Bin AbdulAziz.
Therefore, the Kingdom is heading from stability towards stability, through stability. This is the essence of heritage to the throne, by admitting to government the nephews of the Founder King, together with the participation of young people that completed their apprenticeship on the halls of power, manifesting in the field of political, economic and media action.
I will close now by saying: in Saudi Arabia there is a wealth that has been sown by the regretted King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz and which will be further taken care of by his heir, King Salman, and this wealth is represented by the studies programme abroad. Actually, the second richness of the country, after oil, is represented by the young Saudis returned from studies, after achieving not only high academic titles, but who also gained the experience of cohabitation and communication with other nations from across the globe where they scattered to learn science and gain knowledge. Does anybody doubt that they will become the new leaders in the political class, in economy, administration and mass media, after they have been qualified and trained abroad and at home? Therefore, we are waiting for a new generation of researchers, thinkers and decision makers to manage the natural wealth through a new vision, in line with the challenges of the future.