From its inception 30 years ago, Arab News has grown from a small, expatriate-oriented newspaper to an important and respected communications portal around the world. It truly has become a window through which to look at the events on the global stage and also the day-to-day events within that shape our lives as well as the future of our nation.

For the global media and people around the world, Arab News may be the most frequently read and quoted source of information about Saudi Arabia, while in the Kingdom, Arab News has become a forum for ideas — a place for voices to be heard and controversies debated, a place for the common man to consider uncommon ideas and gain understanding about a variety of issues in an increasingly interconnected world.

Along with changes in technology, we also are promoting a new vision in which young Saudi journalists will take leading roles in the reporting and editing and the shaping of Arab News in the years to come. We are committed to this, and Saudi Research & Marketing Group will put great emphasis on career development — the idea being to train these young people and then retain them to flourish in their careers with our company. We look at it as an important investment for us and also for our country. We’re assigning these talented young Saudis to work at leading newspapers and study at leading journalism schools in the West, so that they will bring home with them the cutting-edge skills and the finest traditions of journalism.

It gives me great pleasure when Arab News writers and columnists are quoted by the world media when the focus is on Saudi Arabia. Not a day passes by without some news agency having some reference to Arab News. That is how far we have come in these 30 years.

Shifting priorities globally have led to changes in policies. With the SRMG titles all aiming for an Arab outreach, bureaus in the region have been strengthened, and every publication given a direction. The world of information is on such a fast track that we at SRMG have to come up with innovative ideas.

In a world where bloggers are creating their own stories, we need to be quick on the uptake and give that added extra that has been the hallmark of Arab News since the start. Readers enjoy the benefits of those changes every day. Switching to four-color printing two years ago was an investment for the future. It also brought all of our newspapers to international standards, along with associated changes in technology, production and quality control. It also prompted the newspaper’s change in size and redesigns of all our major publications.

I cannot give enough praise and thanks to the many people who bring Arab News to you each day. They are more than reporters and editors. Our office staff, pressmen, distribution men and all the other men and women who work here are the heart and soul of this newspaper, and they all deserve our gratitude. But the true success or failure of a newspaper isn’t determined by accountants or international media; it’s determined by the enthusiasm of the readers — both Saudi and expatriate — who make it as much a part of their daily lives as a cup of tea or coffee. If the amount of mail we receive each day from readers anxious to weigh in on a story or some important issue is any indication, I can only conclude that we’re on the right track.

In praising the current members of the Arab News team we have to understand that our achievements are built on the solid foundations laid by equally skilled and dedicated people who were with us during the early years. Without the solid foundations they laid through hard work and integrity, today’s Arab News would not be the prestigious publication it is.

Where will that track lead us? Anywhere we need to go to bring you the news — to share the ideas — and to provide the forum that will shape our lives and our nation in the years to come.