Makkah, Mar 31, 2022, SPA -- The Acting President of the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) Dr. Fahd bin Hassan Al Aqran expressed his thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and HRH Crown Prince for the issuance of the royal order to attach Umm Al-Qura newspaper to the SPA, pointing out that will contribute to strengthening the march of the two sectors, which are considered the core pivot of the official media in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In his statement after the conclusion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the newspaper "Umm Al-Qura", Dr. Al Aqran further said that the newspaper "Umm Al-Qura", which was founded by late King Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1343 Hijri (1924) as the first official newspaper of the state was accorded a great interest by him and his sons, the late righteous kings until the current era of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud as it was full of reliable press materials about the history of the Kingdom over the past century, and it became the subject of study by many researchers and those interested in the history of the Saudi state and its regulations and laws since the reign of late King Abdulaziz until the present time. He added that "Umm Al-Qura" newspaper chronicles the actual beginning of the Saudi media during the reign of late King Abdulaziz after security and stability were established in the country as the media, during his reign, witnessed gradual stages of development and growth, and the Saudi media was added to a dimension of another kind that manifested itself in carrying out the tasks of community service and awareness, highlighting the march of building the Kingdom and its prosperity, especially after unifying its pillars, and working to document late King Abdulaziz’s efforts in developing the country and enhancing its glory, foremost of which is his interest in the service of pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors to the Prophet's Mosque, not to mention his interest in strengthening the Kingdom's cooperation and relations with the countries of the world. Also, the SPA president explained that Umm Al-Qura newspaper and SPA are the official voice of the state and meet in common professional directions represented in publishing the official news of the leadership and the Council of Ministers with its decisions, regulations and legislation, which the citizen and follower of Saudi affairs await, especially after publishing its summary by SPA and then publishing its details in Umm Al-Qura newspaper. Dr. Al Aqran explained that the work of the SPA and Umm Al-Qura newspaper, after merging under one umbrella, will add more harmony to the media action of them, especially towards achieving the message of the sober and successful official media. He also further said that the SPA, which was established more than 50 years ago, is also a reliable historical media window that over five decades has looked at the history and present of the Kingdom, and its news materials have become an important part of historical documents that monitored important stations in the country's development march, indicating that the SPA is witnessing in this year a unique leap represented in the start of the implementation of developmental media projects due to its new strategy approved by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in order to advance its role, and Umm Al-Qura newspaper will be within the framework of this trend to support their media role in light of the amazing progress that the Kingdom is experiencing in various fields in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030, and to keep pace with the amazing development in the media and communication, without prejudice to the news values of both of them. At the conclusion of his statement, the acting President of the Saudi Press Agency thanked Prince Khalid Al-Faisal, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Governor of Makkah region for honoring the centenary anniversary ceremony, praising the efforts of the acting Minister of Media and SPA Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi and his continuous support for the Saudi media in general, and "SPA" in particular, until it accomplished this important step in the history of the Saudi media; the joining of Umm Al-Qura newspaper to "SPA". --SPA 03:12 LOCAL TIME 00:12 GMT 0003 www.spa.gov.sa/w1714933