RIYADH, 20 November 2006 - Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed said here yesterday that there was no plan to construct a fence on the Saudi-Iraqi border.
"There is no fence... but efforts are being made to decrease the flow of illegals from Iraq to the Kingdom and vice versa," he told reporters after inaugurating the International Conference on Learning Disabilities here.
"This project will be completed in phases and within a timeframe. It will not be established along the entire border, but only in certain areas," he explained.
He said the new measures were aimed at boosting security of both countries.
Replying to a question regarding reports of security threats to the Kingdom during Haj this year, he said the Interior Ministry had not received any information in this regard.
Prince Ahmed said the number of extremists who issue terror fatwas was decreasing. "Thank God their numbers are decreasing in the Kingdom." He said that some of these radical religious leaders have already been tried.
Prince Ahmed said that he hoped that peace would prevail in Iraq, saying that "Iraq is a country very dear to the Kingdom."
Commenting on the dip in the Saudi stock market, Prince Ahmed said the Ministry of Interior was not the specified body to deal with this issue.
"Even though we see that the Saudi economy is strong in many aspects, we are surprised that the stock market is down," he said.
He said he hoped officials in the Ministry of Finance and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency would react positively to correct the trend.
Prince Ahmed said the Kingdom's care for children with learning disabilities surpassed many countries. Citing the Saudi Arabian team's success in the World Cup for Persons with Special Needs as an example, he said that the Kingdom supported people with special needs in every discipline.
