Crown Prince Abdullah Addresses New Session of Consultative Council

On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz on May 29 addressed the opening meeting of the second year of the third term of Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council). The event was attended by Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector-General Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of the Council Dr. Saleh bin Humeid and senior Saudi officials

In his address, Crown Prince Abdullah said the establishment of the council had yielded positive results and met the aspirations of the citizens of Saudi Arabia by providing the Saudi leadership with a range of important proposals. Founded on the basis of the teachings of Islam and the traditions of the Arab people, the council in its nine years of existence has proved invaluable to the Saudi government.

Crown Prince Abdullah noted that since its founding by King Abdulaziz in 1932, the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed comprehensive development that has provided its citizens with a high standard of living, guaranteeing employment, security, health and education. In this respect, he added, the state’s most recent move has been to encourage foreign investment and to give greater attention to tourism, as well as to diversifying sources of income, adopting a policy of privatization, and giving attention to the issue of Saudization of the work force.

Referring to the issue of Palestine as the most urgent problem facing the Arab and Muslim world, Crown Prince Abdullah declared that the repressive measures by the occupying Israeli forces had been carried out at the expense of religious, human and moral values. He pointed out that the Saudi peace initiative that was endorsed by the recent Arab Summit in Beirut reflects the desire of the Arab world for peace, and that it provides the Israeli government with two options: the first, that of justice and peace, or the second, that of injustice, intransigence and tyranny. The second option, he said, would lead to more destruction and more bloodshed for all parties, adding: “I would like to make it clear that the [Arab peace] initiative is the beginning and not the end of the road, and that we still face obstacles and difficulties.”

Crown Prince Abdullah praised the work of former members of the Shura Council, notably the late Shaikh Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Jubair, who was its first chairman. He wished the current chairman every success, and expressed the hope that the Shura Council will continue to serve the country and its citizens.

Chairman of the Shura Council Dr. Saleh bin Humeid stated that the annual opening meeting comes this year amid very critical and sensitive circumstances at all levels — regional, Arab, Islamic and international — most importantly the continued occupation of Palestinian territories by Israeli forces. He went on to say that in the nine years since its inception, the Council has studied a number of issues related to state policies and regulations and received the trust of the leadership and the citizens.

During its first deliberations of the new session, the 120 members of the Council discussed a report on the Ministry of Planning’s annual performance. They urged the ministry to better coordinate its efforts with the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to evolve a plan for eliminating deficits in the state budgets and reducing public debts to acceptable levels. The Council also called upon the Ministry of Planning to regularly publish the results of its studies and research, particularly those related to economic indicators.

The Council also initiated a study on the feasibility of separating the economic and financial responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy. Under the plan, the economic affairs would be relegated to the Ministry of Planning, leaving the Ministry of Finance to deal exclusively with financial issues.