RIYADH, 19 April 2006 — Saudi Arabia is striving to reinforce security and stability in the Indian Subcontinent by brokering peace between India and Pakistan, the Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday quoting Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
“Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had set in motion the efforts to mediate between India and Pakistan. We hope that he will succeed in his efforts,” the crown prince told Saudi editors in chief and other journalists who accompanied him during his three-nation Asian tour.
Sultan also spoke about the government’s political and administrative reforms. “There are instructions from the king to deal with people with transparency and we are striving to do away with bureaucracy and complex regulations,” he pointed out.
Asked whether the Kingdom intends to join the nuclear club in the light of developments in the region, Sultan said Saudi Arabia was not seeking any nuclear weapons. He advised Iran to distance itself from such controversial issues and proceed in a manner beneficial to the country.
“It is also not in our interest to take a position against Iran while Israel possesses similar weapons. We are against nuclear weapons and its proliferation. It is enough that big powers have them to protect the world and defend themselves.”
The crown prince denounced the anti-Saudi campaign launched by a section of the Western media. “Some journalists, who visit the Kingdom and hold interviews with Saudi authorities, depart fully convinced about the situation here. Weeks later, they start writing about the Kingdom in a hostile manner,” he said.
Denying media reports that there are some differences between the Kingdom and the United States, Sultan said: “Some Western newspapers interpreted the visits of King Abdullah and myself as a sign of differences between the two countries. Our relations with it are robust particularly in military and economic fields.” He also affirmed the Kingdom’s strong relations with France, China, Japan and India.
The crown prince said that the Kingdom’s accession to the World Trade Organization will not in any way harm Islam or the Saudi culture.
“We joined the WTO with dignity and, God willing, we will set up a ministry for foreign trade in the Kingdom if we need it,” he added.
Asked whether the visits by the king and the crown prince to Asian countries were to counterbalance the relations with the West in the past, Sultan said: “These visits were scheduled previously but because of our other engagements we could not undertake them. Also there were several conferences in Europe and America and few conferences were held in East Asia on Arab issues such as the Palestinian issue.”
He also disclosed plans to strengthen Saudi relations with Latin American countries.
Sultan reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s key role in stabilizing the international oil market. “The Kingdom hiked its production level to 12 million barrels per day with the aim of bringing down the price,” he said.
Referring to the Kingdom’s educational reforms, he said steps have been taken to make radical changes in academic curricula. “For this purpose, new books have been printed and distributed.”
Describing the legal system in the Kingdom as the best in the world, he said great efforts had been made to carry out reforms. Several ministries had been merged and some others abolished.
On a question about facilitating Saudi businessmen’s entry to Singapore without visas, the crown prince said: “I discussed this matter with the Singaporean authorities and told them that you are a developing country but you deny yourself the support you need.”
Sultan said: “The Kingdom will continue buying new weapons and aircraft to defend itself and update its armed forces and has received special budget allocation for the purpose.”
He also referred to the government’s efforts to eradicate unemployment among Saudi men and women and urged the private sector to cooperate by employing Saudis in large numbers. “There will be no unemployment in the Kingdom after five years.”
Replying to a question about opening more offices of Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) abroad as have been done in Singapore, Sultan said it would be done after seeing the performance of the existing offices abroad.
The crown prince agreed to the idea of facilitating visits by foreign journalists and intellectuals in order to give them a shining picture of the Kingdom’s development.
