President Halimah conferred Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour

[RIYADH] President Halimah Yacob was conferred the King Abdulaziz Medal by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday (Nov 6) at the royal palace in Riyadh.

She is the first Singaporean to receive the award, which is the highest civilian honour in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Madam Halimah received the King Abdulaziz Medal during her call on King Salman at Al Yamamah Palace, where the king also hosted a state lunch banquet in honour of her and her husband Mr Mohamed Abdullah Alhabshee.

The two leaders also affirmed the warm and longstanding bilateral relationship between Singapore and Saudi Arabia, and discussed ways to expand cooperation.

These include Singapore's support for Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 economic agenda, and its Group of 20 (G-20) presidency next year.

King Salman also invited Singapore to participate in the G-20 meetings in Riyadh next year, which Madam Halimah accepted.

She had flown into the Saudi capital from Madinah on Tuesday evening, and was received on the tarmac at the Royal Terminal by Riyadh Governor Prince Faisal Bin Bandar.

The tunes of the Singapore and Saudi national anthems were played by a military band during a welcome ceremony at the terminal, as rows of both countries' flags fluttered in the wind.

She met with Prince Faisal on Wednesday morning, at the King Saud Palace.

"They discussed development projects in the Riyadh Governorate and the resulting opportunities for Singapore companies," said the Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.

While in Riyadh, Madam Halimah also visited the National Museum.

She is scheduled to meet with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud later in the day.

Madam Halimah will depart for Jeddah on Thursday morning, where she will meet with a business delegation organised by the Singapore Business Federation and Enterprise Singapore.

She will also attend a reception with Singaporeans based in Saudi Arabia.

THE STRAITS TIMES