After the appointment of King Abdulaziz to his son Saud as a Crown Prince in 1932, and Saud’s successful visit to Egypt in (1935), he decided to further his son’s knowledge of the world by organising a world trip to meet with heads of states. Earlier in 1932, the war with Yemen prevented the achievement of this trip. And At the end of the war came the triumph of Saud , and the King decided to give more responsibilities to his son especially after the Haram incident where, The King encouraged his son to travel to Europe and a comprehensive program was prepared for him to visit Italy, France, England and certain Arab countries [1].
When the European journey ended, Prince Saud headed to the Arab world via Alexandria, Jerusalem and Trans Jordan in 1354H /May 1935. In August he returned to Jeddah. During that visit, he was accompanied by a delegation including FouadHamza and Doctor Midhat Sheik Al Ardh. His visit to Jordan was within the context of his father's wish, to strengthen relations with the Hashemite, as expressed by the King upon the attempt on his life in Makkah [2]. In Palestine he was received by a warm greeting and prayed in Al-Aqsa Mosque and in Al Ibrahimi Mosque in Al Khalil [3]. Crown Prince Saud , was the first Saudi Prince to visit Jerusalem; where he was accompanied by Fahd Bin Kridis, Saleh Al Ali, khairuddine Azzirikli, Fouad Hamza and a group of officials from Hejaz.
(Secret British Sources) mentioned that his visit to Europe was a great success due to his commendable qualities and personality [4]. In another report, they also mentioned that his role in Jordan was described as perfect and that his visit achieved two aims: the first one was to improve relations with the Hashemite House, while the second was to clarify the Kingdom's role in helping the Arabs of Palestine in their crisis [5]. Later on, on the second of April 1936/1354H, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed a treaty of fraternity and alliance, with Iraq, which paved the way for stronger diplomatic and military relations and encouraged other Arab countries to join this treaty. Before that, another similar treaty was signed with Yemen in 1353 H-1934. To consolidate and materialize this agreement, King Ghazi invited Prince Saud In 1355H/May 1936 to visit Iraq where he greeted him warmly. That visit realized positive results in strengthening the relations between the two countries. Then Kingdom signed another treaty with Egypt by which Egypt formally recognized the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. After that, the Saudi Government started to send its students and pilots to Egypt for study and training. Prince Saud , visited Bahrain in 13 Shawwal 1356H / 15 December 1937, in order to alleviate the already tense relations between this country and Qatar due to border issues [6].
Source: Fahda Bint Saud
References
- ^ Jeddah report, April 1935 N.8 Confidential Ibid
- ^ Ibid, Reports from Jeddah, 1935 p.286
- ^ HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR PALESTINE, JERUSALEM Confidential Sept 1935Ruling Families Of Arabia, V.1 P.640
- ^ Foreign Office Report , (191), July 11, 1935
- ^ ANNUAL REPORT, 1936, from Bullard to Mr. Eden Confidential, Political Diaries of the Arab world VS, p. 286
- ^ POLITICAL AGENCY, Bahrain, 25th December 1937. Confidential
Fahda Bint Saud