Global media hail Abdullah’s legacy

Newspapers all over the world were unanimous in praising the legacy of reforms and peace-making efforts by the late King Abdullah.
All noted his efforts at giving Saudi women a greater role in society by having better educational and professional opportunities, and highlighted the fact that he extended the right to vote to women.
“He tried to liberalize the country’s economy, and became known as something of an advocate for women …., promoting female education, and appointing a woman minister, and even 30 women to the Shoura, the national advisory council,” wrote the British Daily Telegraph in an obituary.
The Los Angeles Times quoted former President George H.W. Bush remembering how Saudi Arabia and the US had stood together to face the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq’s Saddam Hussein in 1990 “calling it a moment of unparalleled cooperation.”
The newspaper also quoted Sen. John McCain praising King Abdullah’s reforms, saying: “Abdullah was an important voice for reform in Saudi Arabia who pushed to modernize the nation’s education system and brought women the right to vote and run for office.”
The National of Abu Dhabi reminded its readers of King Abdullah’s efforts to bring the Palestinian factions of Fatah and Hamas back together again in 2007 by taking their leaders to Makkah and telling them to make peace.
“The venue was the king’s palace in Makkah overlooking the Holy Kaaba. The two Palestinian leaders, Khaled Meshaal of Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, entered the Holy Mosque together, draped in the robes of pilgrimage, to touch the black stone. Within days, they walked away with an agreement. This was classic King Abdullah, a man who, during his nearly 10 years as king and two decades leading the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, gained a reputation for patience, dialogue and unwavering religious faith. His leadership was a powerful blend mixing the soft power of symbolism ... and the pragmatism of honest discussion,” wrote Elizabeth Dickinson for The National.
The Guardian of London quoted Christine Lagarde, head of the International Monetary Fund, praising the role King Abdullah played in improving the lives of Saudi women. “In a very discreet way, he was a strong advocate of women. It was very gradual, appropriately so probably for the country. I discussed that issue with him several times and he was a strong believer,” said Lagarde.
In its obituary, the New York Times emphasized Abdullah’s Bedouin roots and how he refused to be treated differently just because he was the king. “Abdullah spoke as plainly as the Bedouin tribesmen with whom he had been sent to live in his youth. He refused to be called ‘your majesty’ and discouraged commoners from kissing his hand,” said the daily.
The Washington Post remembered King Abdullah’s famous Arab offer of peace to Israel in 2002: “King Abdullah was perhaps best known to the world for his introduction of the so-called Abdullah Plan for Arab Peace With Israel … That plan calls for a full peace between all Arab states and Israel if Israel returns to the borders that defined it before the 1967 war …. King Abdullah persuaded all countries of the Arab League to accept this formulation,” noted the paper.
Gulf News of Dubai noted how King Abdullah emphasized the opening up of educational opportunities for all Saudis both at home and abroad. “The king created major scholarship programs in 2005 to sponsor the education of nearly 100,000 young Saudis in western universities, especially in the US, UK, and Australia,” the paper said. “He also promoted and funded — at an estimated $10 billion — the construction of the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST), an institution for advanced scientific research, which illustrated his belief that the country’s future was tied to its investments in science and technology as well as the education of a modernized work force that could secure future jobs.”
The Dubai daily also noted that King Abdullah consolidated Gulf Cooperation Council unity by sending in GCC Peninsula Shield troops to Bahrain following the unrest of the 2010 Arab uprisings.
Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East analyst in Washington, writing in Newsweek magazine perhaps gave one of the best-rounded assessments of King Abdullah’s achievements, noting that the late king had to provide education and jobs to a growing population while modernizing a new nation and fighting a terrorist threat.
“King Abdullah sharply reduced corruption. Saudi budgets and five-year plans steadily worked for the diversification of the economy and for better infrastructure, health and education. Unlike most of the Arab world, Saudi Arabia made major new investments in areas like education, job creation for young people, improved housing and other critical economic and social needs that contributed to so much instability in the Arab world after 2011,” wrote Cordesman.