King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on Tuesday opened the fifth session of the Shoura Council. The Monarch's speech started with greetings for the members of the Shoura Council. The following are excerpts from his speech: “In the name of Allah and with His blessings, we open the the first year of the fifth session of the Council, asking Almighty Allah to ensure success to your efforts, inspire you with opinions and advice. “I take this opportunity to thank my brother, His Excellency Dr. Saleh Bin Abdullah Bin Humaid, for his efforts during his presidency of the Council, and at the same time, I welcome my brother, His Excellency Dr. Abdullah Bin Mohammed Aal Al-Sheikh. “Dear Brothers: “The challenges that face your nation, both at the domestic level, and at Arab and Islamic levels demand and dictate all inveterate vigilance, strength that does not compromise with weakness, patience that does not mix with despair and above all, faith in Allah, which does not associate with the disheartened. All of these require the doubling of responsibilities to counter challenges that emerge one after another including Israeli aggression that creates mischief in the land, Palestinian dispute between brothers which is more serious in jeopardizing our just cause than that of the aggression of Israel on par with other Arab and Islamic differences that are favored by the enemy and are very painful to the friends and, above all, the global and regional aspirations, each with its own suspicious objectives”. “In this atmosphere surrounded by darkness, the Arab peoples see that their destiny is threatened by others. They have felt that their hopes are scattered around and their future is bleak. But the believing Ummah never becomes disheartened. Despite the sufferings and the wounds, the Ummah recalls a long record of its victories. It has triumphed over despair. It has been launched from the plain of bitter reality to the top of the challenge, surpassing itself and is seeking for the unification of its ranks and positions. We will continue – God willing – until every difference is eliminated, knowing that victory cannot be achieved for the nation that engages in fighting itself, and that the world only respects those who are enduring and strong people. We are enduring and strong by the support of Almighty Allah and dependent on the Divine strength. “Dear Brothers: “We have learned from our national course during the last years that dialogue is an effective way to boost understanding and formulate common visions and hence we sought to utilize this course to spread the culture of tolerance and dialogue in the international community. “Wars, conflicts and the accompanying concept of the clash of civilizations have weakened the values of love and peace in the international community. Religions were forced into conflicts and the course of extremism. The international community was overcome by negative phenomena threatening its security and stability and spreading animosity and hatred among the peoples. This situation put on us an Islamic and human responsibility that pushed us to take the lead in diagnosing the international reality and present what we see as a civilization project to get out of the ethical and political malfunction dilemma. “Dear Brothers: “The Makkah call to all peoples and governments of the world of various religions and cultures came to define the Islamic vision and course of action toward the ethical crisis, political differences and cultural clash surrounding humanity. This Islamic vision constituted a basis for dialogue with the other concerning all problems and calamities surrounding our contemporary world. It also defined the basis for confronting the cultural challenge for the Islamic World and laid the foundations for an international policy seeking to re-formulate the contemporary international relations according to a new concept spreading the culture of tolerance and dialogue, serving peace and stability and providing reassurance and prosperity to all peoples of the world. “The Madrid conference for world dialogue constituted the next step in activating the Islamic vision of the relations among countries and peoples. In this conference, I presented the message of the Islamic Ummah (nation) to the whole world. Through it, I announced that Islam is the religion of moderation and tolerance and I called for constructive dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures with the aim of opening a new chapter in the history of humanity in which love and concord replace tension and conflict and we sought through this message to focus on the human commonality among the followers of religions and cultures and underscore the noble values of each religion and culture while respecting the peculiarity of each creed and culture. “Our efforts to spread the culture of dialogue and tolerance were culminated in holding the summit of dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures at the United Nations. This summit was characterized by its international feature in light of the number and diversity of countries which participated in it. We used the forum of the United Nations to mobilize international political support with the aim of accelerating the spread of the culture of tolerance and dialogue and transforming the common human goals to actual practices in the behavior of peoples and course of governments. Then, I reminded the international community that focusing on points of differences among the followers of religions and cultures leads to fanaticism and sows seeds of sedition and animosity. In turn, this creates conflicts that might take the form of destructive wars which are not justified by any Divine religion or ethical principle. The New York Declaration came at the conclusion of the dialogue summit to support the visions and thoughts we introduced on fighting the negative phenomena threatening the security and stability of the international community and undermining the principle of fraternity among the peoples. It called for supporting the international initiatives calling for the respect of human rights among the followers of various religions, protection of the environment, spread of education and fighting poverty, narcotics and crime while underlining the positive contribution of religions and human and ethical values to confronting the common challenges. “On regional issues, Israel continues its atrocities against the defenseless Palestinian people. The killing of the peaceful, the destruction of the infrastructure and the displacement of residents in Gaza Strip in Palestine embody the continuation of the Israeli course based on the sinful aggression against the peoples and the flagrant violation of human rights, the values of justice and principles of peace. It is also a dangerous indication of the loss of international peace and security. If this aggression continues, it will lead the whole Mideast region to the brink of abyss and this will threaten world peace. “Dear Brothers: It was a blessing of Allah bestowed upon your state that has performed its role in this blessed uprising against discord and humiliation. God knows that in every step we have taken, we keep in mind our deep-rooted devotion of people, recognizing their profound belief in Allah, commitment to their Arabism, strong keenness on the unity of the Arab and Islamic nation and its dignity. Praise be to Allah for guiding and facilitating this. Then, thanks to the people for backing and supporting it. “Dear Brothers: During this difficult environment, strong winds of a financial crisis have been blowing toward us. We have had no hand in its making, but its consequences have spread to threaten the entire world. We have to face up to it firmly and deal with it wisely. Thanks to Allah, we have been able to make the homeland free of its worst consequences. We are still watching the situation with caution and vigilance. Undoubtedly, your country is participating, along with the rest of the world's major countries in finding solutions to this crisis, particularly its role in the Group of Twenty. In the meantime, it is necessary for the process of development to continue its progress in our dearest country. Also there should be decisions to push ahead the wheel of development and there is a need to deal with changes for the glory of our homeland and bring about achievements through all means for a decent life for our citizens. This is our way and approach. We will proceed ahead on this path supported by Almighty Allah and inspired by the Divine strength and determination, working tirelessly for making a bright and prosperous future for Saudi Arabia, thriving with love and tolerance, and being proud of religion and faith. “Dear Brothers: “The national issues occupy the priority in your government's attention. What makes us reassured and optimistic on a bright future for your country is the peace and security prevailing in the homeland, the development in it and the standard of living and welfare enjoyed by the Saudi citizen. Despite the severe financial and economic crises which occurred in the world and the resultant effects including the fall of oil prices in world markets to low prices, your government abided by its development plans and financial appropriations devoted to them. This is due to the grace of Allah and then to the firm bases of the Saudi economy and the sound financial policies we adopt. “The issuance of the general budget of the state for the current fiscal year and its main headlines and figures came to provide welfare for the citizen and the homeland and to reiterate the strength of the economic situation of your country and the soundness of its financial course. “The budget included new development programs and projects whose total value exceeds SR225 billion with an increase of 36 percent over what was approved in last year's budget. The preparation of the budget took into consideration the investment of the financial resources of the state in a way that achieves the requirements of the comprehensive and sustainable development with giving priority to the services that directly affect the citizen including the educational, health and social services. Last year's budget achieved a record surplus of SR590 billion, which is the biggest since the state's budget began to achieve surpluses. The public debt of the state at the end of fiscal year 2008 fell to SR237 billion decreasing the percentage of the public debt to gross domestic product to about 13.5 percent for the fiscal year 2008 compared to 18.7 at the end of 2007. “In conclusion, I appreciate your council's efforts and initiatives which contributed to the accomplishment of achievements and rationalizing national decisions. Your council will always enjoy the trust of the leadership and the appreciation of the government and citizens. I pray to Allah to keep our country safe, secure and stable and to guide us to work for the good of our religion, homeland and citizens. He is capable of all things. Peace be upon you.
