The election of Shoura Council member Osama Kurdi as deputy chairman of the Seoul-based group Inter-Parliamentarians for Social Services (IPSS) can be seen as a “thank-you” by the world’s parliamentarians for the massive aid that Saudi Arabia has poured into social welfare programs all over the world in recent years.
One of the more frustrating of the many lies put out by the media in many countries about Arab states, specifically oil-rich ones, is that they never put their hands in their pockets to help the world’s less fortunate or even after some natural disaster or conflict. It is not an easy lie to combat because Arab aid, particularly Saudi aid, is rarely high profile. There is, moreover, no tradition of formally recording it as happens in the West. But the truth is that Saudi Arabia’s overseas development assistance is way above the target set by the UN of 0.7 percent of GDP (or Gross National Income as it is now calculated). Most developed countries are nowhere near the target. Saudi Arabia gives away some 4 percent of GDP annually — feeding Somalis, working with refugees in Pakistan, building roads and bridges in Afghanistan, helping restoration projects in Bosnia, funding development schemes in sub-Saharan Africa and in Asia, helping Iraqis rebuild their shattered lives plus a number of other funding actions. The demands are massive but so is Saudi generosity. In comparison, the US, although the largest donor in cash terms, gives only 0.17 percent of GDP. Among developed economies, only Sweden, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg have exceeded the 0.7 percent target.
The appointment is also a sign of international support for the Shoura as Saudi Arabia’s developing model of democracy. The IPSS may not cover the entire parliamentary world but it includes countries such as New Zealand, Spain, Canada, Mexico, and Ireland as well as the Philippines, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and the host nation, Korea. It is about as global an organization as can be found. Clearly, its members do not believe the other anti-Saudi lie peddled in various sections of the international media — that the country is run by despots for their own interest. If that were the case, Saudi Arabia would not be in the IPSS in the first place, let alone have a member of its Shoura elected as vice chairman.
Osama Kurdi will certainly make an excellent vice chairman of IPSS, which is probably the other reason why he was chosen. The organization’s raison d’être is to ensure the world’s legislatures support social welfare projects around the globe. Kurdi is cosmopolitan, sharp-witted and has a keen understanding of the international, Islamic, Arab and local political scenes. A prominent and active member of the Shoura, he is not afraid to make his views known. As a businessman and economic consultant as well as a former secretary-general of the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, he also has the links to involve both the private and public sectors in promoting social welfare projects at home and abroad. His selection is a good choice, one the IPSS will not regret and one that Saudi Arabia can take pride in.
