The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Thursday celebrates the 7th anniversary of ascension to the throne by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. On this day, the Saudi people pledge allegiance and loyalty to the King and stand united in support of him to build and protect the Saudi state.The past seven years have been characterized by numerous economic, social and educational mega projects. The Kingdom also joined the G20, a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies. King Abdullah, through his political acumen, expertise and leadership skills, has strengthened the role of the Kingdom at regional, global, political, economic and commercial levels. The Kingdom has had a strong presence in international arenas and in world decision-making and has been a strong advocate for Muslim and Arab causes.The King's prosperous era has witnessed several important achievements including the construction of several economic cities in various regions, the King Abdullah Financial Center in Riyadh, and a number of universities including the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal and Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman University in Riyadh. In all, the number of universities in the Kingdom has increased from 8 to 30, this is in addition to the numerous colleges, technical and vocational institutes that have opened Kingdomwide. The King Abdullah Foreign Scholarship Program has sent tens of thousands of men and women students to universities in over 134 different countries. In 2010, the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Award for Heritage and Culture was established. The award encourages researchers and those interested in the field of heritage and culture and reflects the Kingdom's pride in Islamic culture and civilization.The King has given an opportunity to Saudi women to play important roles and prove themselves effective in society and participate in the process of country-building. Women can also become members of the Shoura Council and participate in the 2015 municipal elections.Out of his keenness to meet the needs of citizens and provide them with all means to lead an honorable life, the Monarch directed the concerned authorities to exert all efforts to Saudize jobs in the private sector and decrease unemployment. In order to improve citizens' living standards, the King issued in 2010 an order to increase the capital of Real Estate Development Fund by an additional SR40 billion, which will provide housing loans to citizens. He also ordered the construction of 500,000 residential units at a cost of SR250 billion and increased the capital of Saudi Credit and Savings Bank to SR30 billion.To improve the living conditions of social insurance beneficiaries, the maximum number of family members covered by insurance was increased from eight to 15 and a sum of SR1 billion was earmarked for this purpose. SR3.5 billion was allocated to support social insurance programs and provide a wide range of social services to beneficiaries. The King also ordered a 15-percent increase in the basic salaries of citizens working for the government as a cost-of-living allowance. He also established a minimum wage for public employees and paid out a one-time bonus.To support and bolster the country's security, 60,000 military jobs were created by the Ministry of Interior. Prisoners who were incarcerated over public rights violations were pardoned while those who had been jailed over financial cases were released after the government paid off their debts. Due to the King's belief in the importance of sport and sports clubs for the youth and overall development of the country, he gave SR10 million to each club and further financial support was also extended to all professional associations and societies.To protect public funds and combat, and eventually eradicate, corruption, the National Anti-Corruption Commission was formed at the behest of the Monarch.The King also allocated SR16 billion to the Ministry of Health to implement and expand a number of medical cities, centers and hospitals. Furthermore, funds used to support private hospitals were increased from SR50 million to SR100 million.Over SR500 billion was allocated to renovate, build and provide maintenance services to mosques all over the Kingdom. Over SR200 million was earmarked for the organizations of Holy Qur'an memorization and the same amount was given to the Commotion of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Hai'a) to build more branches in the Kingdom.Financial aid was given to those who suffered during the cold wave that struck the country in 2008. At the time, King Abdullah immediately gave orders for the dispersion of SR654 million to those on social insurance programs to help them cope with the cold weather.To help low-income families buy essentials during the month of Ramadan, King Abdullah Bank for Food and Clothing was setup in 2012. The bank provided aid to over 10,000 families in Riyadh alone and also gave out food items.In 2008, King Abdullah ordered that that the annual aid given to the physically-challenged registered with the Ministry of Social Affairs be increased from SR1 billion to SR2 billion.As for the industrial sector, the King inaugurated several projects that increased the volume of investments in the industrial cities of Jubail and Yanbu to SR676 billion. The number of industrial complexes in the two respective cities reached 42 while the number of factories increased to 400. Two industrial cities, one in Ras Al-Zoor and the other in Rabigh, were constructed and industrial loans were given to investors by the Saudi Industrial Development Fund which, until 2010, had granted 2,336 loans of a total value of SR90 billion.Pilgrims received the full attention of King Abdullah who ordered the implementation of several projects in the two holy cities of Makkah and Madinah at a total cost of SR70 billion. The largest of these projects was Al-Jamart Bridge, which was expanded at a total cost of SR4 billion. Today, the bridge has four floors which can accommodate five million pilgrims in a day. In 2007, he ordered that the northern courtyards of the Grand Mosque be expanded to increase the capacity for the growing number of worshippers. In 2011, the King presided over the inauguration ceremony of the SR700 million King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Zamzam Project, which will increase the well's daily capacity to five million liters.The Prophet's Mosque in Madinah has received equal attention as well and expansion work worth SR4.7 billion was implemented in the eastern courtyards of the mosque. Furthermore, 182,000 canopies are being propped up in the mosque's courtyards to protect visitors from the sun.Other notable projects include Al-Haramain High Speed Rail project, Al-Mashaer Train Project, Makkah Clock Tower Project and King Abdul Aziz Endowment for the Two Holy Mosques.A Holy Qur'an TV channel and another one for the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace be upon him) were launched and broadcast to the Muslim world. In 2011, the Call to Islam radio station was launched in Makkah.In 2007, as recognition for the role he has played in serving Islam and Muslims, the Monarch won the King Faisal International Prize for Service to Islam.In the political arena, the Kingdom continued to implement a balanced policy and used wisdom and farsightedness in dealing with political issues taking place around the world. It was also a major supporter of Muslim causes including the Palestinian struggle against Israel. On the national level, the government has exerted painstaking efforts to maintain security and combat terrorism.The Kingdom also played a major role in de-escalating conflicts in different regions of the world. In 2007, King Abdullah invited the President of Sudan and the President of Chad to sign an agreement in Riyadh enhancing their mutual relations. In the same year, the National Somalia Reconciliation Conference was held in Riyadh and both parties sign an agreement ending their disputes and differences. In 2011, King Abdullah, who had been dedicating full attention to the events taking place in Yemen, called upon the Yemeni government to adopt the GCC initiative to transfer power peacefully to the Yemeni Vice President and end months long protests that had gripped Yemen and claimed hundreds of lives.More recently, he called upon Syrian President Bashar Assad to be wise and stop the bloodshed. He criticized the brutal crackdown on Syrians and urged the government to inact comprehensive reforms.The budget for the fiscal year 1432-1433AH amounted to SR580 billion, an increase of SR40 billion compared to the previous year and market the largest budget in the Kingdom's history. King Abdullah encouraged foreign investment and launched a program focusing on removing the difficulties facing foreign investors. The Kingdom received an award from the World Bank for the policies and procedures it designed to expedite economic reforms. The Kingdom ranked 8 out of 183 in terms of the best foreign investment environment. In 2011, the total foreign investment flow hit SR145 billion, the total foreign investment in the country increased to SR600 billion by April 2011. The King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy was established in 2010 to contribute to sustainable development in the Kingdom. In the humanitarian aid field, King Abdullah was the first to help his brothers and sisters in disaster-stricken and conflict countries. In 2007, he donated SR1 billion to reconstruct Gaza and before that, in 2005, he allocated SR250 million in aid for the Palestinian people. In 2010, he founded the King Abdullah Global Foundation for Humanitarian Work to support humanitarian and food programs around the world.When Israel attacked south Lebanon in 2006, the Kingdom immediately condemned the attacks and worked hard to end the conflict. To support the Lebanese economy, the Kingdom donated $1 billion to the Central Bank of Lebanon. The Monarch also donated $500 million for reconstruction projects in Lebanon. At the international arena, the King has called for dialogue between peoples of different religions, cultures and civilizations and upon his request, the United Nations General Assembly held a meeting in November 2008 during which King Abdullah expressed his concerns about discriminatory practices against minorities of all religions and called upon the convening members to protect human rights and freedom of expression. __
