RIYADH, 2 April 2006 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah said here yesterday that the “Kingdom cannot remain frozen while the world is changing around us,” and vowed to move ahead with political and economic reforms.
King Abdullah opened the Shoura Council’s session for this year in his first appearance as king before the country’s appointed representative advisory body.
The king addressed the 150-member chamber, which was also attended by princes and senior ministers. Some 60 ambassadors also attended, helping to illustrate the importance of the address.
“We will continue with our development progress to deepen national dialogue, free the economy, fight corruption, and increase government labor proficiency,” he said. “All of this will take place with the distinguished efforts of men and women through a balanced and steady progress that goes along with the needs of the society via Islamic Shariah.” The king said that development could only be nurtured in a peaceful environment, far away from extremism and terrorism.
“This is why we are reconfirming our determination to eliminate all deviant members of terrorist cells,” he said, referring to them as “murderers”.
“We intend to combat the ideology of takfeer (accusing Muslims of un-Islamic behavior to justify acts of violence against them) with the proper ideology,” he added, vowing that there “was no place for extremism in the land of the two Holy Mosques.”
King Abdullah pledged to move ahead with his development plans.
“We hope to provide housing and working opportunities as well as providing education, medical treatment, as well as other services,” he said. “We are keen on combating poverty and providing public services in areas that have not received them yet according to studied total development plans.”
The king said that Islam teaches us to spread equality between people and not distinguish between the mighty and the weak.
“People are equal,” he said. “Whoever attains higher ground does that by his good deeds and whoever attains lower ground does that by his bad deeds.”
Abdullah said God Almighty has blessed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because it chose Islam as its constitution and that nothing would harm it as long as it continued to raise the flag of tawheed — the oath that there is only one God, Allah, and that Muhammad is His messenger — which is on the flag of Saudi Arabia.
King Abdullah also said that he hoped Arabs and Muslims throughout the world would unify their stance and “return as leaders of civilizations for humanity.”
“We will continue to always support fair Arab causes, defending their legitimate rights, especially our Palestinian brethren,” he said, adding that he hoped the Arab world would gather momentum and commit itself to unity rather than disunity. “There is no honor in our age except through unity and there is no might without it,” he said.
Speaking on the Kingdom’s foreign policy, the king said that Saudi Arabia was a part of the international community and is affected by what happens in the world.
“Our stance will remain as always based on establishing friendship, cooperating with everyone, and spreading peace. World peace is through unity. And we will continue to move in this direction by following its modest policies with regard to oil production and distribution to protect the international market from any turbulences,” he said.
Raising his voice, King Abdullah concluded his speech by vowing to live up to his responsibility, not only as the king of a nation, but to be loyal to his dedication to the people and the country.
“I say to all male and female citizens that I have known you as you have known me throughout the years of being faithful to the oath. And God willing, you will find me loyal to my religion, and then to my country, and together with you loyal to the oath,” he said. “You will find me there for you in good times and bad as a brother and a friend who is trustworthy. And I shall be amongst you in our progress as we raise the flag of Islam and the country high above.”
The president of the Shoura Council Sheikh Saleh Bin-Humaid lauded the role of the late King Fahd in supporting the council’s legislations and his authorizing that its role be expanded.
He also said that King Fahd played a large role in supporting Arab and Islamic causes throughout his reign.
He said that the Kingdom had gone through a rough period last year due to the actions of “some deviant people who were brainwashed” but managed to be steady and gather around its leadership.
“In addition, security and ideological efforts were combined to terminate what was left of this deviant ideology that defies the principles of tolerance our religion calls for,” he said.
He mentioned some of King Abdullah’s several accomplishments that the Kingdom and the world have witnessed in a short period of time such as his call for the holding of an Islamic summit in Makkah, which discussed several of the challenges the Muslim world was facing. Moreover, he highlighted King Abdullah’s successful trips to several Asian countries, which further opened many economic avenues for the Kingdom.
Bin-Humaid mentioned that the economy of the Kingdom was booming and lauded King Abdullah’s call to invest much of last year’s revenue into public services.
Bin-Humaid said that the Kingdom joining the World Trade Organization required that it move quickly with the changes required to compete with other countries of the world.
“Circumstances have required the development of certain economic sectors such as tourism and transportation and adopting new measures to encourage local and foreign investment in the private sector,” he said.
Bin-Humaid said that among the most visual aspects of growth in the Saudi economy was the growth in the Saudi stock market.
“The number of people trading in the market has jumped from 250,000 in 2002 to three million in 2006, bypassing all expectations and hurdles and even legislative and development obstacles,” he said.
He said that the stock market could produce a huge wealth in providing liquidity and be a means for attracting investors from inside and outside the Kingdom.
Bin-Humaid said the Shoura Council needed more development and legislation “to live up to its role” sought by the king by being a council that gives wise advice based on scientific research.
He said the council sought to be a “contributing factor along with other bodies in overseeing the performance of government bodies through the development of the council’s supervision role.”
Bin-Humaid noted the importance of the establishment of the human rights body and the role it plays in guaranteeing basic rights for citizens and residents through Islamic law and the Basic Ruling Constitution of the Kingdom.
He said the council continued to convey the Kingdom’s message and foreign policy whenever it visits other world parliaments.
Among the new programs implemented by the council last year was extending several invitations to parliamentary and advisory council members of the Islamic world to perform Haj.
The president of the Shoura said that the council had approved 34 legislations last year. It also legislated 107 decisions in 77 sessions.
Minister of Finance Ibrahim Al-Assaf told Arab News that the king’s speech covered various aspects that concern the Kingdom, especially in the economic sector.
“The king commented on Kingdom’s oil policy which is to seek stability in the oil market, which is in the interest of both the Kingdom and foreign countries,” said Al-Assaf.
