“I am very saddened when any minister representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia thinks that he is the inspiring minister and the seasoned leader … and had it not been for his representation of this country, he would have no value.” This is how His Highness, Minister of Energy, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, expressed at the Saudi Media Conference last February the behavior of some Officials who are in the position of representing the Kingdom.
I do not think that what prompted the Prince to speak in such anguish and sorrow of what he had seen and observed was merely a comment on a passing case. It was clear that he was forced to do so out of necessity, or, according to the genius expression of the Najdi, “they cut him to the limit”; As it seemed that the failure of some officials who represent the Kingdom to feel that their value does not derive from themselves, but rather from the country they represent, is the subject of wounding and pain for those who had an iota of patriotism in their heart.
In an attempt to understand the contents of the Emir's speech, I see standing on two things in the statement: First, it seemed that the talk was about external representation. The second is that the hadeeth summarizes a recurring phenomenon, not a passing event.
If we agree that talking about international representation and a phenomenon, it can be said here that whoever follows the most important international events, where the audience is from a very luxurious category, and the reception tools of this category are complex, as it is a spectrum of decision makers at a very high level; As prime ministers, foreign and defense ministers, officials of international organizations, economists, politicians, and others, those who follow will fully understand the importance of the implicit references in the Emir's statement about the official's evocation of the nature of his representation of his country; And to understand the nature of the platform to which he goes, and to arm himself with deep knowledge about the mechanisms of making influence and delivering the message, when speaking to this particular segment of the audience.
I have no doubt that the speech of His Highness the Minister of Energy has aroused curiosity among many on this subject to research more – and the author of these lines is one of them -, which I did for extensive reflection, review and extrapolation. I felt the prince's sadness – rightly -, and the expression of sadness is perhaps a very nice description. So here are 3 friendly messages to His Excellency the official who represents the country abroad.
The first.. Your Excellency, believe me that mastering the English language, and elegantly using it, without carrying strategic ideas, will have no value in front of a deep audience that does not belong to the category of bloggers or a group of random influencers on social networks, but rather an audience that emerged mostly from the womb of Long-established institutions in politics, governance, economics and state administration.
Even if you were – official – Shakespeare in your English, this kind of audience will not care about that, it will only care about the deep ideas and propositions that are presented. Evidence for this is what the reports of the conclusions of major international forums (Outcomes) show, as it will be remarkable to find a celebration of the participation of speakers from developing and poor countries. When you reflect more, you will find that some of these speakers quaver when speaking English, and perhaps do not differentiate between the present simple verb and the present continuous, nor between Have, has, had, but they simply bet on depth in the subtraction, sobriety in the message, and a sense of responsibility for representing their homelands, Their presence was celebrated, admired and accepted.
The second message.. Please, Your Excellency, remember that the Saudi public is a very intelligent audience, and has gained a lot from a deep understanding of things – especially internationally. His vision has refined five years of development war led by His Highness, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It is the five-year war in which the Saudis brilliantly fought the most influential institutions in the world from various spectrums of the influence industry. Including newspapers, channels, think tanks, and others. So, this audience is sad to see you pleading with the inside to amplify your participation in a way that does not match what this participation has achieved internationally. This is an unfair punishment for the homeland, because the homeland, which has been overwhelmed by great things, is a position of leadership and leadership among the nations and peoples of the earth, does not need to celebrate the smallest things.
Thirdly, please, official, remember that this state, with its rulers and leaders, since its founding, has been dazzling the world with actions, not words. Just think about the last five years. They invaded our country from all sides, and they came in groups that were exhausted by illusion, deceived by aspirations, then they soon diminished and dwarfed, then fell under the hooves of actions, not words, in front of the sober silence, and the wise presence, not the presence devoid of the audience.
So, O official, allow us to share the Prince's grief, and say: It is not only your grief, Your Highness, but the grief of all Saudis.
Zaid Al-Shukri