JEDDAH, 30 November 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday urged the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to win the hearts of Iraqi people and said the use of force to suppress opposition would deepen the division among the country’s various factions.
“The use of force to subjugate elements opposing the present political regime in Iraq will only expand the division among Iraqi groups and deepen the conflicts among them,” the Council of Ministers said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The weekly Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, emphasized the need to create a suitable security and political atmosphere in the war-torn country in order to win the confidence of Iraqi people in the government and encourage them to take part in upcoming general elections.
The Cabinet expressed deep sorrow over the continuing bloodbath in both Palestine and Iraq and called upon the international community to take immediate action to restore peace and stability to the region. It also called for the resumption of the peace talks to achieve a just and lasting settlement in the Middle East.
Addressing the meeting, Prince Abdullah noted the strength and progress achieved by the Kingdom’s economy as a result of rising oil prices and the growth of the private sector.
He was referring to the report of the international rating agency Fitch, which assigned Saudi Arabia long-term foreign currency and local currency ratings of ‘A’ with a stable outlook and short-term rating of ‘F1’.
The Saudi government wholly owns Saudi Aramco, the company which holds exclusive oil exploration and production rights within the country. “The government is therefore assured of a large income and inflow of foreign exchange in the medium term. Fitch considers this to be a fundamental rating strength,” the agency said in a report released last week.
Crown Prince Abdullah expressed his satisfaction over the economy’s strong performance and pledged that the government would adopt “responsible” economic policies to meet the country’s development requirements.
The Cabinet expressed its satisfaction over the good response shown by citizens in Riyadh to register their names to participate in municipal elections, which are scheduled to start on Feb. 10. It said the elections would help improve the quality of municipal services.
Prince Abdullah commended the Ministry of Economy and Planning for issuing early results of the general census, which showed the Kingdom’s total population growing to 22.67 million.
Insurance Council Reshuffled
The Cabinet reshuffled the Cooperative Health Insurance Council, which will be chaired by Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie.
The new council members are: Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Muammar of the Interior Ministry, Dr. Mansour Al-Hawassi of the Health Ministry, Sami Al-Mubarak of the Labor Ministry, Ali Al-Ghaith of the Finance Ministry, Mansour Al-Suleiman of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeea, public health sector, Nasser Al-Subaie of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Mousa Al-Rubaiaan, representating insurance companies, Dr. Abdullah Al-Isa, representing the private health sector, and the principal of the College of Medicine, King Saud University.
In another development, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah thanked Interior Minister Prince Naif as well as the ministry’s staff for their efforts that made this year’s Umrah season a success.
More than four million pilgrims including 2.63 million foreigners performed Umrah this Ramadan.
Also yesterday, Crown Prince Abdullah inspected the King Abdul Aziz International Conference Center in Riyadh. Prince Miteb, minister of municipal and rural affairs, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and other senior officials accompanied the crown prince.
