'Combat brain drain' to rebuild strong Arab world

Riyadh: The troubles in the region "are created by others" and the Arabs are not to be blamed for them, Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz has said.

"The Arabs are capable of returning [to] their lofty position and sovereignty to each of their countries through relying on Allah, the Almighty, coupled with determination of their men and making better use of their intellectual capabilities," he said.

Prince Nayef made these remarks at a luncheon hosted by him in honour of the presidents and directors of Arab universities.

The function was held at the end of the two-day conference of the Federation of Arab Universities held on the premises of the Naif Arab University for Security Sciences here.

While opening the conference on Sunday, King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz reiterated Saudi Arabia's determination to eliminate terrorism that transforms deceived youth into tools of killing and destruction.

Prince Nayef also renewed Saudi Arabia's "determination to stamp terrorism and track down terrorists wherever they are".

He specially noted that in its fight against terror, the kingdom imposed neither emergency nor martial law even though it had passed through similar situations in its fight against the scourge of terror.

Prince Nayef, who is also chairman of the board of directors of the Nayef Arab University for Security Sciences that hosted the conference, urged the Arab university heads and their representatives to give priority for intellectual security in the curricula of their higher education institutes through establishing special scientific chairs for promoting research in this vital sector.

He called for greater efforts to combat brain drain to build a strong Arab world. Prince Nayef also underlined the need to enable younger Arab generations to achieve excellence in science and information technology.