The Speaker of the Shura Council, Sheikh Dr. Abdullah bin Muhammad bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh, spoke about the achievements of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques during the current year on various levels, both internally and externally, highlighting these achievements during his speech today, Wednesday, at the opening of the fourth year of the sixth session of the Shura Council in Riyadh.
The unity of the Saudi people
The Speaker of the Shura Council said, "The country is experiencing a rare example of cohesion between leadership and the people, an image that embodies a strong bond between a wise leadership and a loyal people, which has resulted in security, stability, prosperity, and growth."
He added, "Since the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques assumed the reins of power, our country has witnessed rapid progress towards renewal, advancement, and development. From the first week of his reign, he initiated a series of reform, development, and administrative decisions, including a royal decree to abolish a number of committees and higher councils and establish two new councils: the Council of Political and Security Affairs and the Council of Economic and Development Affairs. A decree was also issued to merge the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education into a single ministry called the Ministry of Education, and a decree was issued to establish the King Salman bin Abdulaziz Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid to be a center for providing relief to communities suffering from disasters, and allocating one billion riyals for relief and humanitarian work for this center."
The Speaker of the Saudi Shura Council mentioned that King Salman inaugurated a number of projects in Mecca in Ramadan, including the project for the main building of the third Saudi expansion of the Grand Mosque, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques project to complete the first ring road. In Medina, the new Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz Airport in Medina was also inaugurated.
The housing sector
Al Al-Sheikh added, "Because providing suitable housing for citizens is one of your priorities, the Council of Ministers issued a decision approving the system of fees for undeveloped land, which will contribute to reducing the cost of obtaining suitable housing, especially for those with limited or low incomes."
Syria and Palestine
The Speaker of the Shura Council addressed the Kingdom's foreign policy, emphasizing that the Palestinian issue remains a central focus of the Kingdom's policy. He continued, "The Kingdom has always affirmed the need to respect the decisions of the United Nations and international covenants and to confront Israeli practices that stand in the way of peace efforts," indicating that the Kingdom's efforts to support the issues of the nation have not stopped.
He added, "Efforts have continued to help the Syrian people overcome the crisis whose fifth year is nearing its end due to the military operations carried out by the Syrian regime against the brotherly people. The Kingdom has, therefore, hosted a meeting of the moderate Syrian opposition to find a solution to the crisis and end the suffering of the Syrian people."
Operation Decisive Storm
In defense of the Yemeni people and the legitimacy of their government, he affirmed that Saudi Arabia led the Arab coalition to save the Yemeni people from the Houthi militias that cooperated with the ousted president.
He continued, addressing King Salman, "May God protect you, you announced the allocation of more than one billion riyals in response to the humanitarian and relief needs of the brotherly Yemeni people, and you also directed the implementation of the necessary measures to regularize the status of the brothers and sisters from the Republic of Yemen residing in the Kingdom in an irregular manner."
The Riyadh Declaration
The Speaker of the Shura Council continued, saying, “As part of Arab cooperation with countries around the world, Riyadh hosted the fourth summit of Arab and South American countries. The summit, led by King Salman, successfully produced the ‘Riyadh Declaration,’ which is unprecedented in its comprehensiveness and was issued without any reservations.”
He added, “Riyadh also hosted the 36th summit of the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and its decisions reflected and affirmed the unity of the Gulf states in facing challenges and strengthened the historical fraternal ties that unite the Gulf countries.”
Regarding the Shura Council, the Speaker said that the past year witnessed the development of the administration it had previously established, which is responsible for communicating with the community. The Council launched communication channels that keep pace with modern social media, in addition to direct communication with citizens to present their issues to the Council’s specialized committees for discussion and to find the necessary solutions in accordance with the Council’s system and regulations.
He added, “The Shura Council continued its efforts in the field of parliamentary diplomacy, which achieved great success in strengthening parliamentary relations with similar councils in brotherly and friendly countries.”