Memoirs of Akbar Hashemi – March 2, 1998

In the reports of the Arab world, the ruling of the Hague Tribunal in favor of Libya in the preliminary stages of the Lockerbie case is noteworthy. I reminded the accompanying minister about the fact that the toilets of Qasr al-Diyafa are built facing the Kaaba. He said that in their jurisprudence too it is not permissible; surely the negligence of the engineers has caused it.

At nine in the morning we set off toward Jeddah. We went directly to the industrial estate and entered a glass factory from the private sector. The head of the factory gave a report on the various types of container glass they produce. They import some of the materials from Iran and have mostly focused on perfume bottles and have various types. We also visited the production lines. Most of the workers are foreign, especially Filipino. They have several other factories too that produce textiles and plastics and so on, and they gave the companions gifts of their produced perfumes.

The Deputy Minister of Industries also gave a report on Saudi industries. More than two thousand units and about 300 units in this same estate, and he said they give half of the capital as interest-free loans and water at four cents per liter and electricity at four cents per kilowatt and do not take taxes, and fundamentally in Saudi Arabia they do not take taxes from the people; they only pay 2.15% of profit as zakat.

Then we went to the factory for producing telecommunications and power cables. They buy part of their needed copper from Iran and expect us to buy from their products. They also produce fiber optic cables, but Iran's cable factory is more modern than theirs. They gave a report on their production and exports; they have run into problems for marketing.

On the return, our elevator broke down and we were trapped in it for a long time. It caused embarrassment for the factory owner. Two factory owners have a positive sympathy toward Iran. Some of them are originally Iranian and some are Shia. From there we went to another factory of this same complex. The factory owner said he is from the lineage of Amr al-As and was proud of it; he did not know that our view of Amr al-As is not positive.

We went to Jeddah Port. We passed beside a bridge. The Deputy Minister of Industries said the bridge is 33 kilometers long. Later it became clear it is 13 kilometers and its two sides are 26 kilometers, and he gave unrealistic statistics in answer to my questions, for which he was embarrassed by my explanations and expressed surprise at my information. For example, he said that daily in Jeddah they desalinate 60 million cubic meters of sea water; when I explained to him, he realized that he had said many times too much. Fundamentally, some Saudi officials do not know the statistics; for example, some said the population of Jeddah is three million and some one and a half million and some two and a half million.

We went to Jeddah Port. The port director gave good explanations from the port's model. He said it is the largest port in the Middle East with a capacity of 30 million tons of loading and unloading and modern equipment and sufficient warehouses and a suitable draft. They consider the first year of construction and the history of the port to be the beginning of Islam. Then by bus we took a tour of the port. Honestly, I found it equipped and clean and active. They have a factory for refining red sugar into white and a silo for grains. They do not pay demurrage.

After the noon and afternoon prayers, we went to the top of the port's 130-meter tower for lunch. From the top, the view of the port and the coast and the sea is well visible. After lunch, we went to the Conference Palace on the Red Sea coast to rest; it is very luxurious. Then several merchants came who cooperate with the Foundation of the Oppressed and have formed a joint company called Fa'ezin Company and are busy building a central center as a permanent exhibition of Iranian goods. I encouraged them.

Then the mayor of Jeddah came. He brought gifts and accompanied our delegation to see the "Corniche." They call the sea coast "Corniche"; it seems to be a French word. They have done a noteworthy coastal development; they have organized about 40 kilometers of the coast beautifully and artistically with highways and the sea and lawns and statues and artistic forms and squares and beautiful ground trees of palm and beautiful flowers. The private sector is also active and rents land at 150 Saudi riyals per square meter per year from the municipality for various activities.

We reached a bay called Anbahr, which with a 13-kilometer fishing ground is a unique recreation spot. Hundreds of fishing and pleasure boats are on it. On the other side of Anbahr we went to a recreational village where 130 villa houses with an interesting beach and pool and other separate facilities for men and women have been built by the private sector. The time for the evening prayer came. We prayed on that same beach. The mayor said that in the middle of the bay, the water depth suddenly increases and reaches more than 100 meters.

Early in the evening we went to our own consulate in Jeddah to greet the staff and also to see the building under construction. The kids and ladies gave a warm welcome and sang Iran's anthem. I greeted them. They were very grateful that I had taken them inside the Kaaba with me.

Then we went to the Chamber of Commerce. After the introduction and the remarks of several of them about the importance of Iran and trade with Iran and industrial cooperation with Iran and expressing happiness and thanks for my trip and smoothing the path of cooperation, I too spoke in this same direction. I answered several questions. There was a dinner banquet.

We reached Mecca late. At twelve at night, I went to the Holy Shrine for circumambulation. I read the reports from the computer. The demonstrations of the Tahkim-e Vahdat students against the Guardian Council, because of the rejection of the qualifications of several leftist candidates and their clash with the Ansar-e Hezbollah, are receiving intense attention from domestic and foreign media.