DAMMAM, 20 December — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, has said that Saudi Arabia is prepared to attend all Arab meetings, including a summit called by Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"Saudi policy consistently favors attending Arab meetings. We have never abstained," Prince Sultan told reporters in Tabuk on his departure to the Eastern Province Tuesday night.

He was replying to questions about the Kingdom’s response to Saddam’s call for an extraordinary Arab summit and whether Riyadh will attend an urgent meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo today.

"We don’t want to hear just nice talk. We want to see words translated into action," Prince Sultan said.

Saddam urged Arab leaders on Tuesday to put aside their differences and hold an emergency summit on Israel’s "aggression against the Palestinians," preferably in the holy city of Makkah.

Prince Sultan deplored a scathing media campaign in the West against Saudi Arabia. He told newsmen that some people had doubted that Saudi Arabia would give military and material support to the US to respond to the Sept. 11 attacks.

He said Saudi Arabia is not against the US or the West and does not support any form of terrorism but "we have our Arab and Islamic policy which we would not divert from in any way whatsoever".

He said the unfair media campaign against Saudi Arabia is because of its unwavering position on the Palestinian issue.

He added: "The message sent by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to US President George Bush was the strongest ever."

The reply from Bush was very rational, but his later position and that of his administration toward Saudi Arabia were influenced by Zionist pressure, Prince Sultan said, adding, "International Zionism will never become our friend in any way unless we become our own enemy."

He indicated that the US media campaign was a surprise for his country despite the close bilateral relations and common interests. He said Saudi newspapers took a rational attitude and "did not match evil with evil by responding to the slanderous campaign in the West."

Speaking at a function to mark the Eid Al-Fitr at the King Fahd Military City in Dammam yesterday, Prince Sultan reiterated the Saudi government’s commitment to provide best possible training to the armed forces personnel.

He said in the past 38 years, the Kingdom’s defense training program has matured into one of the finest in the region. Many Gulf countries send their armed forces personnel for training in the Armed Forces Technical Training Institute.

The prince said that 38 years ago there were just 70 cadets at the Military Technical College. But today "we have more than 1,000 cadets under various training programs and several thousands had already completed their courses successfully at this institute."

The Chief of the Armed Forces in the Eastern Province, Gen. Suroor M. Al-Harbi, received Prince Sultan at the military city. Eastern Province Governor Prince Muhammad ibn Fahd and his deputy Prince Saud ibn Naif accompanied Prince Sultan.

The defense minister conveyed the Eid greetings of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to the defense personnel.

Later, Prince Sultan joined the armed forces personnel at a lunch held as part of the Eid celebrations.

In the evening, Prince Sultan, accompanied by Prince Muhammad and other dignitaries and high-ranking officials, joined the people of the Eastern Province at a civic reception organized in his honor at the Dammam Corniche.

The skies of the corniche lit up with fireworks to welcome the prince. Hundreds of thousands of residents in the region had gathered at the corniche since early evening to watch the show. The traffic moved at a snail’s pace and police had a tough time in clearing the jams at several locations.

Addressing the press conference at the conclusion of his visit to Tabuk Tuesday night, Prince Sultan, who also chairs the Higher Commission for Administrative System, revealed a government plan to push reforms in the civil service by next year.

The prince indicated the likelihood of the merger of some departments or ministries and the creation of new ones. He also declared a war on bureaucratic red tape in a bid to increase productivity.

The prince said the excess staffing at government departments is a huge drain on the treasury and a stumbling block in the way of economic progress.

Over 50 percent of the national budget is used for paying employees’ salaries. The work of 20 employees can now be done by one with the aid of computers. The excess staff can be deployed in other areas. However, the government has no plans to lay off staff in order to cut expenditures, he said.

Prince Sultan will visit the King Abdul Aziz Air Base in Dhahran today and inaugurate various facilities there.

He will also attend a luncheon in his honor at the base. In the evening the defense minister will host a dinner at his palace which will be attended by senior citizens, businessmen, religious leaders and high-ranking officials.