JEDDAH, 12 May 2005 — Saudi Arabia yesterday called for the elimination of barriers that prevent free flow of capital and investment, and for giving greater role to developing countries in the decision-making process of global financial organizations.
“The Kingdom also stresses that the reforms covering international financial systems must include adequate tools to prevent and manage financial crises,” Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said at a summit of South American and Arab countries in Brasilia.
“In the world of globalization and information technology, we must take the opportunities to develop our joint economic capabilities. This means in the first place, the elimination of barriers that prevent the free flow of capital and investment projects,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the prince as telling the conference.
In their first regional summit, which ended yesterday, South American and Arab leaders endorsed a declaration condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and calling for trade liberalization to lift the planet’s poor out of misery.
“For me, this meeting marks the beginning of a new historical moment in our relations,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the summit’s host. “The relationship between South America and the Arab countries will never be the same again,” he said.
Banding together in an event aimed at dampening the dominance of developed countries, the summit leaders voiced their commitment to strengthening their political and economic ties. They also condemned terrorism, denounced US sanctions against Syria and supported moves to give developing countries greater weight on the international stage.
In his keynote address, Prince Saud referred to the Kingdom’s economic and political reforms. The new foreign investment law “provides a full list of assurances and incentives that enable the investor to keep pace with all modern changes and developments,” he explained. The world financial system must be changed in order to support the efforts of the developing countries to achieve economic growth along with social equality. He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s firm commitment to stabilize world oil market.
He said Saudi Arabia had provided about $83 billion in foreign aid benefiting 73 developing countries around the world including South American states. “Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is a developing country with increasing financial needs, it still finances the developmental, economic and social projects in the developing countries,” he pointed out.
Saudi Arabia also took the initiative to contribute its full share in the fund initiative for reducing the debts of the poor countries that are burdened by debts to the International Monetary Fund. The Kingdom waived the debts of a number of poor countries before the launch of this global initiative, he said.
He expressed Saudi Arabia’s appreciation of the Brazilian government for playing host to the summit, adding that it would help strengthen cooperation between the two groups. He underscored the long-standing relations between South American and Arab countries. “The history of the relations between the Arab world and the Latin American countries goes back to more than 500 years,” he said.
Prince Saud called for strengthening business ties between the two regional groups. “Despite the intensive Arab presence in this part of the world, the size of the trade exchange and investment between the Arab countries and Latin American countries is currently not up to the level of the available resources and capabilities of both sides. In 2004, the volume of trade exchange stood at $10 billion representing 1.13 percent of its total external trade and this is not in harmony with the ambitions of our peoples,” he said and hoped the summit would help correct this bleak scenario. “We should encourage and support the flow of investments, exchange of expertise and the transfer of technology as a response to global changes,” the prince said.
Prince Saud also called for the settling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, stressing on giving equal opportunity for all Iraqi people in the political process and wished a bright future for Lebanon, maintaining its “distinguished relations” with its neighboring country Syria.
He described terrorism as the most dangerous phenomenon the international community was facing. “In order to fight this phenomenon, which does not have a religion or nation or nationality, Saudi Arabia took the initiative to hold an international counterterrorism conference in Riyadh last February,” he said.
Prince Saud emphasized the importance of cultural exchange between the two groups. “There is a need to enhance programs of cultural exchange and the interaction between intellectuals,” he said and stressed the importance of protecting the cultural diversity of countries.
— With input from agencies
