RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has increased support for an influential research organization that carries out studies in the Kingdom’s political and strategic domains.

Abdullah also ordered governmental departments to benefit from the Institute of Diplomatic Studies’ activities in the fields of research, seminars and conferences, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.

The Institute, a subsidiary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was officially inaugurated by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal in Jeddah in 1980 and started with full-time training courses in the field of diplomatic studies.

Its headquarter was moved to Riyadh following the transfer of the Kingdom’s capital in 1984. Following this move, the Institute’s training programs were expanded to allow different government employees and diplomats from other Gulf states, Arab and Islamic countries to enroll.

A ministerial decision declaring the institute as the principal institution for training the government’s employees in the area of diplomacy and international affairs was issued in 2007.

The decision boosted the institute’s activities, and increased its responsibilities when accrediting its training diplomas in these fields.

Recently, the institute has added conducting global research to its ongoing activities.

For that purpose, four centers of studies — the Center for Strategic Studies, the Center for American Studies, the Center for European Studies and the Center for Asian Studies — have been created.

Meanwhile, the king lauded the Kingdom’s economic development after it became the 13th economically competitive country in the world, according to a rating from the International Finance Corporation, a subsidiary of the World Bank.

The king expressed his sentiments in a reply cable sent to the Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority Amr Al-Dabbagh.

The World Bank report is based on data gathered from 183 countries from June 2008 to May 2009. The report highlighted the rapid rate of economic growth among Middle Eastern countries, especially Saudi Arabia, as a result of reform.

For the fifth consecutive year, Saudi Arabia was ranked as the best place to conduct business in the Middle East and the Arab world.