SANAA, 18 May — Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Ahmad in remarks published yesterday welcomed workers from Yemen to the Kingdom and called on Saudi businessmen to invest heavily in the neighboring country.
In a wide-ranging interview with September 26, the official organ of the Yemeni armed forces, Prince Ahmad said, “The door is open to our Yemeni brothers and there are no obstacles for them to work in the Kingdom.”
Prince Ahmad described the participation of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, in Yemen’s National Day celebrations as a clear indication of the outstanding relations and strong cooperation between the two countries.
Prince Ahmad said the border agreement between the two countries was a means to strengthen mutual ties and dismantle barriers dividing the two countries.
Answering a question on bomb explosions in some parts of the Kingdom in recent months, Prince Ahmad ruled out political motives behind the attacks.
“The reasons are known and the responsible people are known (to Saudi authorities)...,” Prince Ahmad said. “The crimes are not linked to any political causes ... the issue is one of settling of scores between individuals who are involved in illegal activities,” he said.
The latest in a series of bomb attacks on foreigners in the country was on American doctor Gary Hatch. He was injured earlier this month when a parcel bomb exploded as he opened it in his office at a medical center in Alkhobar.
A Briton and an Egyptian were slightly injured in an explosion in the capital Riyadh on March 15, five months after two bombings in the same city killed another British citizen and injured several Westerners. A Scotsman was blinded in one eye in another bombing in Alkhobar in December.
Prince Ahmad denied presence of organized crime gangs or groups operating in liaison with foreign gangsters in the Kingdom. He said the Kingdom had stepped up efforts to curb drug trafficking.
The prince affirmed that the recent security agreement with Iran would be beneficial to the Gulf countries and that it had nothing to do with the dispute between United Arab Emirates and Iran over three Gulf islands.
