JEDDAH, 16 July — Prince Abdullah, the regent, yesterday urged all government departments to strictly adhere to budgetary regulations to keep their expenditures within the limits of allocations made in the general budget.
Addressing the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers, Prince Abdullah told the ministers that their expenditures should not exceed the set limits, except in emergency cases.
The regent’s call follows a report by Riyad Bank that the Kingdom, which has projected a $12 billion budget deficit for 2002, was likely to make a small surplus on the back of high oil prices and strong private sector growth. "Our forecast is based on the assumption that oil prices will average $22 per barrel for Saudi crude this year, as against $16-17 that was assumed in the Saudi budget," the bank pointed out.
Prince Abdullah also urged government officials to shoulder their responsibilities and extend their services to citizens in a just manner without infringing on the rights of others.
"We should practice justice in work and dealings, give priority to public interests, realize the principles of equality and equal opportunity and should not infringe on the rights of others," the regent told the officials.
Prince Abdullah highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts to have the Israeli siege on the Palestinian people lifted and revive the Middle East peace process in a way that would ensure the Palestinians’ right to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.
State Minister and Acting Information Minister Dr. Madani Allaqi said the Cabinet meeting authorized the interior minister or his deputy to hold talks with the Egyptian side to conclude an agreement to fight drug trafficking.
The Cabinet also decided to conclude another agreement with Syria on marine transportation. The communications minister will hold talks with his Syrian counterpart to sign the accord, he added. The Cabinet meeting approved a memorandum of understanding for cultural and scientific cooperation between the higher education ministries in the Kingdom and Uzbekistan.
The meeting agreed to give the chairman of the Saudi side, which takes part in free-trade zone talks with any country, the authority to take reciprocal action when the other side violates any of the provisions of the agreement.
The Cabinet appointed Dr. Saleh ibn Muhammad Al-Shoaibi as assistant deputy minister for domestic trade at the Commerce Ministry, and Saud ibn Suleiman Al-Fahd as assistant director general of customs at the Finance and National Economy Ministry.
