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February 18, 2005 |
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***** In a limited reshuffle of his cabinet, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz relieved four ministers of their posts, with two of them replacing each other and two departing. According to a royal order, Dr. Mohammed Ibn Ahmed Al Rasheed lost his post as Minister of Education and was replaced by Dr. Abdullah Ibn Salih Obeid; and Dr. Ali Ibn Ibrahim Al Namlah, was also relieved of his post as Minister of Social Affairs and was replaced by Dr. Abdul Mohsin Ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Akkas. Meanwhile, Dr. Fuoad Ibn Abdul Salam Al-Farsi, the Minister of Culture and Information, and Iyad Ibn Ameen Madani, the Minster of Hajj, exchanged their posts according to the royal order. The order relieved each of them of his post and appointed him to assume another ministerial portfolio. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has ordered the extension for four more years of the term of office of three non-cabinet ministers. According to a royal order, the service of each of Prince Mohammed Ibn Nassir Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud, the Governor of Jazan, and Prince Saud Ibn Abdullah Ibn Thinayan Al Saud, Chairman of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, was extended for four years, effective 8/1/1426 H. The term of office of Salih Ibn Abdullah Al Brahim, Deputy Chief of the Court of the Cabinet's Presidency, was extended for the same period from 23/1/1426 H. according to the royal order. The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Iran Sayed Mohammed Khatami on the anniversary of country's National Day. In his own name and on behalf of the government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd wished the president continuous health and happiness and the friendly people of Iran steady progress and prosperity. In his cable, the monarch hailed the existing friendly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran in all fields. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Iran Sayed Mohammed Khatami on the anniversary of country's National Day. In his cable, the crown prince wished the president continuous health and happiness and the friendly people of Iran steady progress and prosperity. Also he hailed the existing friendly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran in all fields. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has sent a cable of congratulations to President of Iran Sayed Mohammed Khatami on the anniversary of country's National Day. In his cable, the crown prince wished the president continuous health and happiness and the friendly people of Iran steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, received a message from President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority. The message was delivered to the crown prince by the Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Nabeel Sha'ath during his audience and the accompanying delegation with the crown prince. Dr. Sha'ath conveyed to the crown prince the greetings of President Abbas and Premier Ahmad Qurie. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah sent his greetings to the Palestinian leadership. The audience was attended by Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, Prince General Miteb Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs and a number of officials. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, received at the royal court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh Iraq's Minister of Interior Falah Al Naqeeb who leads his country's delegation to the International Counter-Terrorism Conference. During the meeting, Al Naqeeb conveyed to the crown prince the greetings of Iraq's President Ghazi Al Yawar and Prime Minister Dr. Iyad Alawi. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah sent his greetings to the president. They reviewed the items discussed in the conference. The audience was attended by Prince Abdul-Ilah Ibn Abdul Aziz; and Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, received an invitation from India's Prime Minister Dr. Manmo Han Singh to visit India to further consolidate the existing cordial relations between the two countries. The invitation was conveyed to crown prince by India's Ambassador to the Kingdom M. O. H. Farooq during an audience with the crown prince at the royal court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh. During the audience, the ambassador conveyed to the crown prince the greetings of India's President A. P. J. Abdul Kalam and India's prime minister. On his part, Crown Prince Abdullah sent his greetings to the Indian leadership. The audience was attended by Prince Dr. Bandar Ibn Salman Ibn Mohammed Al Saud, Advisor at the Crown Prince's Court; and Dr. Salih Ibn Homaid, Chairman of the Shoura Council. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, paid in Riyadh a visit to the Information Exhibition of the National Guard held within the framework of the National Solidarity Anti-terrorism Campaign. Upon arrival at the venue, the Crown Prince was received by Prince General Miteb bin Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs and number of senior officials of the National Guard. The Crown Prince was briefed on the exhibition, watching its contents. Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General has addressed his thanks to the Minister of Health Dr Hamad Ibn Abdullah Al Manei on the occasion of the appraisal by WHO of the Hajj season this year and its cleanliness from any contagious or epidemic diseases. Prince Sultan thanked the Minister and members of the Ministry for the efforts they exerted. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister, met with Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Engel Moratinos who is currently visiting the Kingdom. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in addition to regional and international issues of mutual concern. The meeting was attended by a number of officials. Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Foreign Minister received at his office Malaysian ambassador Tansry Haj Wan Mokhtar who came to bid him farewell at the end of his term of office in the Kingdom Later, Prince Saud received at his office, the President of Russian Federal Agency for Energy Affairs and the Head of the Russian side at Saudi-Russian Joint Committee Sergey Oghanisian and the accompanying delegation. The meeting was attended by the Undersecretary of Foreign Ministry for Economic Affairs, Dr. Yousef Als'adoun and Russian Ambassador to the Kingdom Andrei Baklanov. The international conference on 'Built Environments for Sustainable Tourism' (BEST) ended in Muscat with the adoption of a historic declaration enshrining a charter of principles for sustainability developing tourism through the use of built environments. Tourism Under-Secretary Mohsin Ibn Khamis al Balushi announced the formal adoption of the charter, dubbed the 'Muscat Declaration', at the concluding ceremony of the five-day conference. Delegates accepted the 23-point set of guidelines after an intensive debate on the principles governing all tourism activity and related infrastructure in built environments. Representatives of the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) hailed the charter as a coherent set of guiding principles and policies that would give tremendous fillip to the collective goal of promoting sustainable tourism. WTO's Eugenio Yunis, Chief of Sustainable Tourism Development, and Amr Abdelghaffar, Middle East Representative and the Coordinator of the General Programme of Work, both addressed the closing ceremony. Delegates also paid tribute to the Omani government's initiative in convening this first-ever international forum on Built Environments for Sustainable Tourism. The outcome of the conference, along with the Muscat Declaration, will be disseminated by WTO to governments around the world, as well as decision-makers, planners, developers, indeed the private tourism industry worldwide. The five-day conference was organised by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the WTO and UNESCO. The Muscat Declaration enjoins governments, tourism authorities and the tourism private sector to, among other things, promote the use of strategic tourism planning procedures for ensuring sustainable tourism development for the built environment. It also calls for the promotion and establishment of partnerships among tourism stakeholders, public and private, in order to ensure an orderly and sustainable development of tourism infrastructures that respect local cultures and economies. The charter seeks to promote use of quality and adapted modern architecture and infrastructure in the development of tourism facilities in a way respectful of the built or natural environment, reinforcing positive destination images. It also calls upon the authorities and the industry to monitor the impact of tourism on the built environment from the standpoints of economic, cultural and environmental sustainability. The conference concluded with delegates cabling thanks to His Majesty the Sultan for the courtesy and hospitality extended to them during their stay in the Sultanate. Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Eng. Ali Al-Naimi met President of the Federal Agency for Energy Affairs in Russia Serrji Onmanisan and the accompanying delegation. Speaking on the occasion, Al-Naimi highlighted the existing cooperation between the Kingdom and Russia in oil affairs. 'As the Kingdom and Russia are the biggest oil producing and exporting countries in the world, then it will be an essential matter for them to enhance their cooperation and coordination at the world oil market', said Al-Naimi. He pointed out that the two countries are keen on stable oil prices that serves the interests of both oil producing and consuming countries, and that positively contributes to the growth of the world economy. The meeting was attended by Prince Faisal bin Turki Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Advisor at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and other senior officials. Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi thinks extremist teachings, not unemployment, are the root causes of terrorism in Saudi Arabia. Al-Gosaibi blamed the spread of terrorism on the "indoctrination that teaches young people they can kill justifiably" and the training some extremists received in terror camps in Afghanistan. "I don't believe that terrorist movement has anything to do with unemployment," the minister told reporters in Riyadh. Unemployment has long been regarded as a major source of frustration in a region possessing one of the world's youngest populations. Many also argue that economic hardships also drive young people from the region toward militancy. "As you know Osama Bin Laden is a very rich man and all of his cronies are quite rich," Gosaibi said. "(Venezuelan-born terrorist) Carlos (the Jackal) wasn't exactly a beggar and I am not aware that somebody has been driven to terrorism simply because he could not find a job." The minister said the Kingdom's official unemployment rate was five percent, representing 150,000 people, but unofficial estimates put the figure at up to 30 percent. The Saudi government has embarked on an employment drive to reduce its dependency on its seven million-strong foreign labor force and reduce unemployment. Gosaibi hopes half of the Kingdom's jobless will be employed within the next six months, leaving 80,000 unemployed, "which is a very acceptable rate." On charges that the Kingdom has been doing too little to protect the rights of foreign workers, Gosaibi acknowledged there have been abuses, but said his ministry is determined to crack down on such practices. "There are some abuses here related to the treatment of foreign workers and unfortunately a number of those who bring (laborers) here do not know how to treat them," Gosaibi said. More than 1,000 people and organizations have been banned from employing foreign laborers "because they abused them in one way or another." The Labor Ministry has established a department to protect expatriate laborers, while laws pertaining to foreign workers are being reviewed. 64 workshops have been launched in Riyadh to study the issues of poverty, immigration and unemployment in Riyadh. The workshops have been set up within the framework of the strategy for the development of the population organized by the higher organization for the development of Riyadh and will continue their activities until the 14th of Muharram. The organization announced that the working groups are studying the economical, cultural, and social aspects of the problems. Brigadier Khalid al-Esaimi, president of the Kuwaiti delegation to the International Terrorism Conference here, praised Saudi-Kuwaiti security cooperation, saying it was effective and constructive. In remarks to KUNA, he noted that it is a difficult task for one nation to take on terrorism all by itself and that cooperation with others is imperative if one sought a total victory over terrorism. With regard to recent clashes between Kuwaiti security forces and some terrorists, he said some delegates to the conference here made laudatory references to the way Kuwaiti security handled these clashes. He indicated Kuwait was among the first to announce its support of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz's proposal to establish an international center for the fight against terrorism. The fact that so many countries and international experts on terrorism have turned up for the conference is a clear awareness of the enormity of the ubiquitous problem of terrorism, al-Esaimi said. The conference is expected to wind down its activities. Britain applauded the agreement of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to end violence and restart moves towards peace in the Middle East. Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told BBC radio the progress made at the summit in the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh had put the international road map for peace "back on track." He held out hope for rapid movement towards a two-state solution for the region following a further summit in London on March 1. The Foreign Secretary said "I know that there have been plenty of dawns which have turned out to be false in the very tortured relationship between the Israelis and the Palestinians, but I think this is a new beginning." Straw hailed the courage of both men, singling out Sharon's decision to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank as a key stepping stone in the resumption of moves towards peace. He said "It has been a very courageous move by him and the senior leadership of Israel and it has been matched by the Palestinians. Mahmoud Abbas has been very courageous indeed." The outcome of the talks was "certainly what I was hoping for, but it exceeds my expectations. It is very important." Straw added that the agreement effectively completed phase one of the "Road Map" produced by the US, UN, European Union and Russia in 2003, which set out steps towards an independent Palestinian state existing alongside a secure Israel by the end of this year. "We now have the Road Map back on track. Essentially, what both Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ariel Sharon, the Israeli prime minister, have done is announce the implementation of phase one of the Road Map," he told the BBC. Further progress towards the final goal could now be expected, the Foreign Secretary suggested. "The Road Map, according to the timescale set out in it, is now 20 months late, because phase one was supposed to be over by May 2003." "I think it will go as fast as it can. No one can put a timescale on these things. There will be some difficulties on the way," he went on. "Our conference on March 1 in London ... will be very important in enabling the Palestinians better to build the security force that they have to build and to take steps to reform their political institutions and get the economy going, particularly in Gaza as the Israelis withdraw." "If we have that under the belts of the Palestinians, the Israelis and the international community, I think we could then see some fairly rapid progress, " Straw said. But he added "When I spoke to Palestinian leaders, they have told me they want to take it one step at a time and don't want to rush into final status talks unless these have been very well prepared in advance." The London gathering will be attended the US Secretary of State Dr Condoleezza Rice, as well as foreign ministers from the Quartet, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia, as well as Canada, Japan and representatives from the World Bank. Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman of the US Department of State said we congratulate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting a successful counterterrorism conference that brought together over 50 countries and international organizations. The conference produced a declaration, or issued a declaration of recommendations that we believe demonstrates the seriousness of the international community's commitment to combat terrorism and we welcome its calls for strength and cooperation and coordination among countries in the struggle against terrorism, money laundering, weapons trafficking and drug smuggling. I would also note that the statement declared that terrorism has no justification, regardless of the pretext or alleged motives. We welcome that as well. As far as the international counterterrorism center goes, we will be part of the Saudi-led task force on the proposed international counterterrorism center, and I would note that U.S. Homeland Security Advisor Frances Townsend has indicated that anything done to increase the sharing of intelligence is a net gain but, at the same time, we need to be mindful of the need for continued bilateral exchanges of information. Russian Ambassador Serguei Boukin said it was up to Lebanon to choose its allies, without foreign interference and to make those choices based on political priority, stressing that peace and stability in Lebanon are the main concern of the Russian diplomacy. Boukin said it was up to the Russian government to create a favorable atmosphere to help the Lebanese settle their problems and determine their own destiny. "We believe that Lebanon and the Lebanese, with their experience in democracy and through their democratic institutions, will be able to solve their domestic affairs by themselves without foreign interference," the ambassador added. The Kuwaiti minister of the interior Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah denied that the leader of armed Islamic cell Amer al-Enezi had died of torture in prison. The minister of the Interior told al-Rai al-Am daily that al-Enezi's death "was not a result of torture as alleged by some and that the report of the "legal doctor will prove that." He added "those who campaign that al-Anzi died because he was tortured have no evidences and that the report of the "legitimate medicine" will prove that the death is a result of a decline in the blood circulation." Lebanese Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri reiterated his country's commitment to the international resolutions, stressing that the UN resolution 1559 constitutes intervention in Lebanon's internal affairs. Berri added that the resolution dealt with a sovereign issue that comes of the UN Security Council jurisdiction. The Lebanese official, who is also Chairman of the Federation of Councils of the Organization of Islamic Conference, was speaking at the opening of the Federation's 7th Session in Beirut. Representatives from 23 member-countries are taking part in the two-day meetings. Mr. Berri stressed that Syria constitutes geographic, human and Arab depth for Lebanon, adding that ties between the two neighboring countries are bound by an agreement of cooperation and coordination. After her meeting with Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: we spent a good deal of time talking about the challenges and the opportunities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Benita was saying that I think we were literally tracing each other's steps through the Middle East over the last day. And that just shows that the European Union and the United States are going to be very strong partners as we try and realize the opportunities before us in the Israeli-Palestinian issue. We were remarking at how impressed we were with the fact that both Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas seemed to understand the historic opportunity before them, that this is a moment for optimism in what has been a longstanding and long-simmering conflict, but recognizing that we have not been able and the parties have not been able in the past to seize opportunities that have been before them. We have pledged to work to redouble our efforts this time to see if we can bring about the conditions that will allow this to succeed. That includes the work that we will do at the London conference, at which the EU will be represented at that conference to help the Palestinians build the institutions of democracy, build the security institutions that can be a reliable security force for the Palestinian Authority, and, of course, work on the reconstruction of the Palestinian territories, most especially, first, Gaza, but also the West Bank, and to do that in a way that helps to ensure a peaceful and effective withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza and the four settlements in the West Bank, as the Israelis have, in their historic decision, decided to do. We look forward to a meeting of the Quartet very soon, most likely at the time of the London meetings, where we -- the EU, the United Nations and the Russians are the members of the Quartet -- so that we can look at the task ahead of us and begin the process of getting back onto the Road Map, which is, after all, the reliable guide to President Bush's vision, but really our common vision of two states living together in peace, Israel and a Palestinian state living side by side in peace. While meeting with ambassadors from the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) member countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Russia's relations with the East and with the West are two important parts which complement each other in his country's foreign policy. He said Islam is an element of Russia's history and culture, adding that Russia will continue promoting bilateral ties with Islamic countries. Russia, with a Muslim population of about 2,000, has attained fruitful achievements on cooperation with Islamic countries for the past years, said the minister. Lavrov pointed out that Russia and Islamic countries have been making efforts to prevent potential dangers resulting from religious extremism and hostility. The minister stressed that Islam, as a religion and national culture, should not be jeopardized by extremists, and any attemptsto associate terrorism with Islam and to distort the concept of fighting terror must be avoided. To promote dialogues between different cultures, religions and civilizations is a priority in Russia's foreign policy, which is in accordance with President Vladimir Putin's proposal for strengthening contacts with OIC member countries, Lavrov said. Without the participation of the Islamic world, it is impossible to solve a number of important problems in international affairs, he concluded. Sultan Qaboos bin Said has given royal directives during his meet-the-people tour for the implementation of a number of service and development projects in Al Batinah region and Musandam governorate at a cost of RO26 million. The projects would include building 657km of internal roads, lighting 293km of internal roads, and constructing 105 housing units, in addition to building new wings in Khasab hospital. "These projects would be implemented this year as an addition to 2005 budget," a source said, confirming that His Majesty is always keen on knowing for himself the needs and requests of his people during his field visits to various wilayats and villages. Sultan Qaboos bin Said has given instructions to the Royal Court to construct 100 social houses in the wilayat of Shinas and 50 social houses in the wilayat of Liwa at the personal expense of His Majesty. As per the directives, the Diwan of Royal Court would supervise the execution and distribution of the houses to those eligible in the two wilayats. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appealed to Europe February 8 to set aside past disagreements with the United States and open a new chapter in the transatlantic alliance based on the unprecedented opportunity to achieve "historic global advances for justice and prosperity, for liberty and for peace." "It is time to turn away from the disagreements of the past," Rice said in a speech at the Institut d'Etudes des Sciences Politiques de Paris. "It is time to open a new chapter in our relationship, and a new chapter in our alliance." "America stands ready to work with Europe on our common agenda -- and Europe must stand ready to work with America," said Rice in the major policy speech of her weeklong trip to Europe and the Middle East. Calling the present "a time of unprecedented opportunity for the transatlantic Alliance," she said that if Europeans and Americans "make the pursuit of global freedom the organizing principle of the 21st century, we will achieve historic global advances for justice and prosperity, for liberty and for peace." On the Palestinian and Israeli agreement in Sharm El-Sheikh Secretary of State Rice said: Success is not assured, but America is resolute. This is the best chance for peace that we are likely to see for some years to come; and we are acting to help Israelis and Palestinians seize this chance. President Bush is committed. I am personally committed. We must all be committed to seizing this chance. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hani Mulki conveyed a verbal message from King Abdullah II to Syrian President Bashar Assad on the results of the quartet committee, which was held in Sharm Al Sheikh, and ways of activating the Arab peace initiative adopted at Beirut summit. President Assad expressed, during a meeting with Mulki, his appreciation of the efforts of King Abdullah to restore just and comprehensive peace in the region, the King's continued calls for the comprehensive solution and the necessity of activating the peace process at all levels. Foreign minister told Jordan News Agency that he carried an invitation from the Syrian President to King Abdullah to visit Damascus as soon as possible. Syria underlined boosting of the Middle East peace process on all tracks and stressed the comprehensiveness of the solution, Jordan's Foreign Minister Hani Mulqi said. In a statement to journalists, Mulqi said he would convey a message to King Abuddlah II of Jordan on his meeting with President Bashar al- Assad. "The meeting has dealt with the need to concentrate on basic and essential issues in the upcoming Arab summit and the boosting of the Middle East peace process on all tracks including the Syrian, Lebanese and the Palestinian," Mulqi said. He added that his meeting with President Assad emphasized the solution inclusiveness and its justice as to achieve security and stability in the region. Foreign Minister Farouq al- Shara for his part told journalists talks with Mulqi have dealt with possibility of holding a meeting for neighboring countries as soon as possible noting that he would hold contracts with foreign ministers of the neighboring countries in this respect. "Syria welcomes to host the meeting," Shara said. Answering questions over US officials statements over Syria, Shara hoped every US official to be briefed on facts, and truth by figures as well what Syria has done and how she is working then respond to any question presented with no provocation. Mulqi had arrived in Damascus in a short work visit to Syria and met President Assad and Foreign Minister Shara. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan agreed to negotiate two agreements on encouragement and protection of investment and avoidance of double taxation as the two-day Saudi-Pak Joint Ministerial Commission meeting. Heading high-level delegations, Saudi Commerce & Industry Minister Dr Hashim Ibn Abdullah Yamani and Pakistan Commerce Minister Hamayun Akhtar co-chaired the seventh JMC in Islamabad. The two ministers signed the minutes recorded and decisions taken by the four subcommittees established by the JMC on its first day on trade & investment cooperation; cooperation in education, human resources development, health, railways, agriculture, scientific information, security and standards and accreditation; cooperation in visa and consular affairs; and cooperation in information, culture, Islamic affairs, sports and youth affairs. Dr Yamani told a joint news conference with his Pakistani counterpart that the proposed agreements on encouragement and protection of investment and avoidance of double taxation would have play a crucial role in enhancing bilateral investment. Experts of the two sides would work on their drafts. 'We agreed for exchange of information and frequent visits besides holding seminar; to strengthen cooperation in technical and technological sectors through exchange of visits, research programmes and joint ventures,' the Saudi Minister said. 'We are looking forward to translating the agreed recommendations to solid steps and finalization of procedures in order to realize the fruitful cooperation for mutual benefit of our two countries,' he added. Dr Yamani said Saudi Arabia has liberalized its economy and streamlined procedures. Its private sector is playing a vibrant role, he said. 'We have views on how to expand our cooperation. The business community from both sides participated in the discussions, which would play a constructive role in several major areas. These will have positive impact on our efforts to explore new opportunities for cooperation', he said. Labor Minister Dr. Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said the Saudization drive in the sector of nationalization of limousine business would be carried out in phases within the next three years. "At present we don't have enough Saudis willing to work in this sector and it will be difficult to Saudize this sector within a short period," the minister told reporters. He said 30 percent of drivers in the sector would be Saudized during this Hijrah year, which began on Feb. 10. "This rate will be further increased to 60 percent next Hijrah year (1427) and 100 percent in the third year," he explained. The government decided two years ago to fully Saudize the sector as part of a major drive to find jobs for the growing number of unemployed Saudis. Dr Al-Gosaibi's timely decision will save limousine companies SR1 billion. "We will review all the unrealistic decisions that were taken before," Al-Madinah Arabic daily quoted the minister as saying. The Saudization plan was to affect more than 700 taxi companies that own more than 70,000 cars across the country. Taxi company owners feared that the move would drive them out of business because there are not enough Saudi drivers who want to work full-time. As per the previous decision, licenses of limousine companies would not be renewed until they achieve 100 percent Saudization. In an order issued in 1423H, taxi firms were told to Saudize 30 percent of drivers within six months, 50 percent by the end of 1424H, 75 percent by the first six months of 1425H and 100 percent by the yearend. "We are not demanding the impossible," Gosaibi said referring to requests of limousine companies to review the decision to save their businesses from closure. Al-Gosaibi said his ministry was successful in bringing down unemployment rate to five percent. He also pointed out that among the country's 180,000 jobseekers 20,000 were unqualified. "There is a plan to employ 100,000 Saudis. This will again bring down the number of unemployed to 80,000," Gosaibi pointed out. But he did not give a timeframe for the employment of these Saudis. |