The Foreign Ministry has helped solve 85 percent of thousands of cases involving Saudi citizens abroad over the past three years, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the foreign minister, said Tuesday.

Prince Saud was speaking at the headquarters of the ministry at the opening of the third general conference for Saudi ambassadors and chiefs of Saudi missions abroad. The last conference took place three years ago, according to a report carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

He said Saudi citizens have been involved in close to 180,000 cases and situations during this period, of which 85 percent were solved. There are 12,000 cases remaining. “The remaining cases are still being heard in foreign courts. We will do everything we can to solve the problems facing our citizens abroad, so that they can return safely to their homes,” he said. The minister said the ministry has introduced new technology connecting Saudi missions abroad with the ministry and other government agencies.

“The statistics speak for themselves, and show how we’ve benefited from using the applications. This year alone, there were more than 5 million visits to the ministry’s portal. We processed more than 10 million visa applications and handled 8,400 requests from citizens. The electronic processing system recorded more than 800,000 transactions.”

“In addition, we archived more than 1 million historical documents at the Central Archives at the Documents Center in Riyadh. Prior to this the process took 107 steps but the new technology has reduced this to just two,” he said.

At the end of his speech, Prince Saud urged the diplomats to work harder. “I know there are various definitions for politicians and diplomats. Some say that diplomats make promises to build bridges when there are no rivers to begin with. Others say that a politician is one who can deliver unscripted speeches. I know you are neither. Even if you do not have rivers to cross, you still have mountains of work to do. You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders. I am sure you are up to the task.”