RIYADH, 8 May — Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, has reaffirmed the role of the businessmen in the development of the national economy.
“A good number of Saudi businessmen have not failed (in their duties toward the nation) and they have contributed a lot. However, the nation expects extra efforts from them particularly in achieving the twin goals of investment and employment,” Crown Prince Abdullah said in a letter to the Chairman of the Saudi Council of Chambers and Industry Ismail Abu Dawood recently.
“It is neither permissible nor admissible that a citizen cannot find a decent job in his own country even though there is no dearth of job opportunities, but such a situation persists because of certain people’s flawed understanding of the higher interests,” the crown prince stated in the letter.
The crown prince’s statement also underpins the Seventh Five Year Developmental Plan’s (2000-2005) target of tackling the unemployment issue by creating 800,000 new jobs for Saudi youths, mainly in the private sector.
Referring to the tendency of several Saudi businessmen to invest outside while the Kingdom is in need of large investments, the crown prince said in his letter to the captains of the business community in the Kingdom, that the nation had a greater claim on the wealth of its own people.
He added, that they (businessmen) could not have achieved in the first place (what they did) without the help of the native country, particularly, when the native country offered them guarantees for the safety of their business operations, plenty of facilities for the running of their firms and, above all, tax-free profits which is hardly found in other countries.
The crown prince said: “All the more disturbing is the fact that the wealth goes to others and benefits unknown people in far-off places.” The crown prince urged such businessmen to come back to their own country. “This country never withheld, nor cut short the rights of its citizens nor of their brothers, their kinsmen, nor of their co-religionists nor of anyone else,” he said.
The Saudi investment outside the Kingdom is estimated at between $800 billion and $1 trillion.
He pointed out that businessmen enjoyed a good share of the Kingdom’s riches and therefore, “It is their duty to work for and be thankful to their native country, particularly in these times when a nation’s economy has become vital factor and a nation’s strength is measured by its economic capability.”
The crown prince agreed that most of the businessmen have done a lot for the progress of the nation’s economy, but the nation expected more from them in order to create employment opportunities for the unemployed Saudi youths.
He urged the businessmen to give their best with perfect loyalty to their religion and nation and, fulfill their duties with credibility and a sense of responsibility.
