Saudi Arabia has allocated a total of U.S.$400 million ($250 million in soft loans plus $150 million to finance exports) for reconstruction projects in those countries afflicted by the December 26 tsunami. The financing will be extended through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) in cooperation with the concerned authorities in those countries.

This was announced by Minister of State and Cabinet Member Dr Musaed bin Muhammad Al-Eiban while delivering the Kingdom's speech at the Afro-Asian Summit being held in Jakarta, fifty years after the 1955 Bandung Summit, which advocated the right to attain independence. Commenting that today the Palestinian people are still deprived of their right to independence, he stressed the importance of reviving the peace process in line with the Arab peace initiative that was proposed by Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz at the 2002 Beirut Summit and that was again endorsed by the Arab leaders meeting in Algiers last month.

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