Addressing the G20 summit here on Sunday, the Saudi leader called upon consumer countries to establish effective financial and commodity markets to avoid fluctuations in oil prices. "The fluctuation in oil prices which the world witnessed in 2008 and 2009, caused damage to the producing as well as consuming countries," he said.
He also asked consuming countries to cooperate with the producing countries in order to ensure market stability and the flow of investments required for energy production. "It is important to enhance the capabilities of poor countries' access to energy through the adoption of policies and practical programs to implement the initiative of energy for the poor," he said.
The promotion of access to sources of clean and diverse energy that is reliable and affordable is essential to achieve sustainable growth and development, King Abdullah told G20 leaders. "Our approach to support clean technologies should not include a bias or prejudice against oil and other fossil fuels."
King Abdullah reiterated the importance of supporting developing countries, particularly those affected by the financial crisis. "The Kingdom has done its utmost to help the poor countries and mitigate the global crisis on these countries by increasing bilateral and multilateral development and humanitarian assistances and also supporting and enhancing the resources of the regional and multilateral development banks," he said.
The Saudi leader emphasized the success of G20 Summit in its response to the global financial crisis, including the measures taken to make the world avoid falling into recession. "But the fragile global economic conditions prompted the postponement of the announcement of success," he said.
"It is important that global growth should be stronger and more balanced and sustainable through the adoption of coordinated actions by the countries of the group and simultaneously taking into account the needs and circumstances of each country," he said.
On the financial systems, the King emphasized the importance of their reform for avoiding the world economy with similar crises in the future, noting that the application of strong supervisory and control systems is considered a better alternative than the imposition of taxes on financial institutions.
The King noted that the ability of the financial system in Saudi Arabia has been strengthened to withstand crises. "The banking system has maintained safety of its conditions, levels of profitability and high capitals even in the wake of recent global crisis," the King said. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has taken a number of actions in fiscal and monetary policies to counter the global financial and economic crises," he said.
The King continued: "In the area of public finance, the Kingdom continued its investment program in both public and oil sectors with a total expenditure of $400 billion. "This amount is the largest stimulus package announced by the Group's member states as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)," he said. "This is in addition to increasing the capital of finance institutions to be able to provide additional funding for the private sector, especially large corporates and small and medium enterprises," he added.
He welcomed the progress made on issues of reform of the voting rights and the capital in the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) as well as IMF (International Monetary Fund) reforms. The king stressed the importance of addressing the reform proposals as an integrated package.
With regard to international trade issues, the King stressed that the continued recovery in world trade is a necessary requirement to contribute to accelerate the pace of global growth, and this requires to avoid protectionism and to take appropriate measures to support the business-associated funding.
"In line with Saudi Arabia's commitment to free trade, it continues its efforts to support trade liberalization initiatives at all levels. The Kingdom continues to provide funding for the purposes of trade through a number of programs and funds at national and regional levels," the king said.
