Dr. Abdulwahid bin Khalid Al-Homaid, Deputy Minister of Labor of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in Washington to lead his country's delegation to the G-20 Ministers of Labor summit, vowed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the least affected by the international financial crisis, thanks to its expansionist economic policies and structural reforms taken by the government as well as the economic renaissance witnessed by the Kingdom since 2004 resulting in huge financial surpluses and numerous developmental projects in addition to the country's policy to build good financial reserves that helped the national economy to stand steadfast before unexpected shocks. In a speech before the opening ceremony of the summit, Dr. Al-Homaid said the Kingdom is committed to continue its drive to achieve more activation for the national economy through huge governmental expenditure, citing the Kingdom's appropriation of some $70 billion for developmental projects in 2010 out of about $144 billion allocated for gross expenditure in this year's state budget. On the negative impact of the international financial crisis on employment in Saudi Arabia, the minister described the effect as limited, citing no lay-offs of national employees as a result of the financial crisis, continuation of demand for laborers by the private sector, increase of new visas for foreign laborers, and fall of unemployment rates well before the financial crisis. --More
