The governorate is organizing the youth forum with the aim of developing the skills of Saudi youths and boosting their cultural and sporting capabilities.

The prince said all youths in Makkah province are treated alike without any discrimination on the basis of the residential districts where they live.

“There is no differentiation between youths from developed neighborhoods and unplanned districts. They all are sons of the Kingdom,” Prince Khaled said in a press conference after the inaugural function.

All youths in the province have been invited to participate in the competitions, the prince said.

Eight hundred students including girls are participating in the month-long final round of sports, cultural, art and tourism competitions in Jeddah.

“The government gives top priority to developing youths, as they are the pillar of the country’s development,” the prince said, adding that he followed a strategy of “build the man and develop the place,” to achieve desired progress in the province.

As many as 300,000 intermediate and secondary school students from 11 regions of Makkah Province had participated in the preliminary round of local-level competitions.

The prince said university students would be included in the forum’s activities next year.

The prince added a committee has been set up to expand and develop the activities of the forum.

Stressing the role of businessmen in the empowerment of the Kingdom’s youths, the prince said: “Businessmen have an important role to play in developing society including the youth.”

The prince said the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) has especially made a remarkable contribution to finance the forum.

The prince considered the country’s youths as partners in the development of the nation and to move toward a knowledge-based society.

“We mostly depend on youths, and they deserve a balanced development which we are striving to implement in the province,” he said.

He described the response of youths to the forum as excellent.

“It will be a blemish not to focus on a great youth initiative such as this,” the prince said, calling on the media to cooperate in spreading the message of the forum.

In the final round of the competitions, there were 20 contests in the fields of culture, education, science, tourism, recreation and sports. These included those involving Qur’an recitations, poetry, innovation, photography, plastic arts, wall painting, football, basketball and table tennis. The competitions will be held under the supervision of panels comprising specialists and professionals in each field.

Competition venues include Jeddah sports stadium, King Abdulaziz University, King Fahd Coastal City, Youth Welfare Presidency Hall, Markaz Abraq Al-Rugama, and a tent on Jeddah’s Corniche.

When asked in the press conference about underdeveloped neighborhoods, the prince said a supreme committee under Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior, was set up to deal with the issue.

The prince said all questions on improving such neighborhoods would be answered in a press conference on Saturday.