Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, inspects the armed forces stationed in the southern Jizan region on Wednesday. (SPA)

JEDDAH, 12 February 2004 — Regulations that prevent domestic pilgrims from repeating Haj more than once every five years must be extended to foreign pilgrims, Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has said.

“Some of them have performed Haj five to 10 times. Regulations must be enforced in future so that people have to wait five years before repeating Haj,” he told a press conference in Abha on Tuesday.

Prince Sultan was talking about new measures to make the annual pilgrimage safer. Two hundred and fifty-one pilgrims were crushed to death in a stampede at Jamrat in Mina, site of the symbolic stoning of the Devil, on the third day of Haj this year.

“We hope things will be better next year and in the coming years,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the prince as saying. He called for further efforts to improve pilgrims’ awareness on how to perform Haj without causing trouble to others.

Saudi Arabia has already imposed a “one Haj per five years” limit for domestic pilgrims — Saudis and expatriate workers alike. “We introduced this measure in our country five years ago,” Prince Sultan pointed out.

Turning to reports of border problems between Saudi Arabia and Yemen, the defense minister said: “There is no problem at all and delegations of both countries visit each other. Some Yemeni and other newspapers wanted to fish in troubled waters. But there is no troubled water as we have good cooperation with Yemen.”

Prince Sultan emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts to fight extremism and terrorism and blasted foreign media campaigns against the country. “We are not worried about this vilification campaign,” he said. Prince Sultan also stated that Saudi Arabia would go ahead with its political and economic reforms.

Referring to the training program for Saudis, the prince said some 60,000 young men would be trained within the next three years. The government has allocated SR3 billion for the project, he added.

Prince Sultan said the Shoura Council was studying the privatization program. “Privatization requires a time schedule and a specific system,” he said adding that Saudi Arabian Airlines would be privatized shortly.

Later in an interview with Al-Arabiya satellite channel, Prince Sultan again denied an Israeli claim that the Kingdom had foiled an attempt by a Saudi pilot to carry out a terrorist attack on Israel.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia totally rejects this report. This never happened and will not happen,” the minister said. He expressed surprise at some Arab channels and newspapers giving credence to what Israel says.

On reforms in the Kingdom, Prince Sultan said, “What is happening now is the development of government agencies as well as upgrading of laws and regulations. Everything is undergoing development, including the armed forces.”

Prince Sultan signed an SR113 million contract with a national company later for the development of Bisha Airport. He examined a model of the airport expansion project, designed to meet air transport needs in and around Bisha for the next 20 years.

The prince flew yesterday to Jizan to lay the foundation stone for an SR26 million kidney center, which will be financed by him. The center is to have 50 dialysis units and other high-tech medical facilities. While in Jizan, he also donated SR10 million to the Prince Sultan Cultural Center and SR5 million to the Prince Muhammad ibn Nasser Charitable Housing Society in the city.