Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world...

2
6 THE JAPAN TIMES WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 (3) Saudi Arabia national day Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world stage Abdulaziz A. Turkistani AMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA ------------------------------------------ On the occasion of the 79th Na- tional Day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we would like, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Sultan bin Ab- dulaziz and the people of Saudi Arabia, to express our sincere greetings and best wishes to Their Imperial Majesties Em- peror Akihito and Empress Michiko, and the people of Ja- pan. In 1932, the Founder King Abdulaziz Al-Saud established the modern Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In a few short de- cades, the kingdom has trans- formed itself from a desert na- tion to a modern, sophisticat- ed state and a major player on the international stage. KAUST Today, Sept. 23, 2009, the King Abdullah University for Science and Technology (KAUST) will open as the Cus- todian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud envisaged for 25 years. Located along the Red Sea, 80 km north of Jidda in Thuwal, KAUST aims to be a world-class graduate re- search university that will support scientific discovery and human advancement. World Conference on Dialogue To initiate his endeavor of launching an interfaith dia- logue initiative, King Abdul- lah bin Abdulaziz convened a meeting of more than 500 Mus- lim scholars from around the world for the International Is- lamic Conference for Dia- logue, which was organized by the Muslim World League and took place in Mecca on June 4, 2008. The conference high- lighted the importance of dia- logue, and emphasized the need for the faiths and cul- tures of the world to combat extremism and intolerance. Instead of allowing these threats to divide people, King Abdullah’s vision was to bring people together. The Mecca conference was followed by the World Confer- ence on Dialogue in Madrid, Spain, on July 16, 2008. The three-day conference, hosted by King Abdullah and King Juan Carlos I of Spain, brought together 300 delegates from around the world, repre- senting Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Judaism and Shin- to. The Madrid conference was also organized by the Muslim World League. In the final statement of the Madrid conference, the participants urged the United Nations to convene a special session of the General Assembly on in- terfaith dialogue as a means to highlight the importance of in- terfaith dialogue among world leaders. In what became a culmina- tion and continuation of grow- ing unity, world leaders gath- ered at the U.N. to take the next step in building a con- structive dialogue among the followers of the world’s reli- gions. King Abdullah was joined by more than 25 world leaders — including U.N. Sec- retary General Ban Ki Moon, U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Jor- dan’s King Abdullah II. In his opening remarks, King Abdul- lah emphasized the impor- tance of dialogue and under- standing when he said: ‘‘Human beings were created as equals and partners on this planet; either they live togeth- er in peace and harmony or they will inevitably be con- sumed by the flames of misun- derstanding, malice and ha- tred.’’ Saudi foreign aid According to a report by the U.N. Coordination Office for Humanitarian Affairs, Saudi Arabia is the No. 1 contributor among countries that provid- ed funds to U.N. humanitarian appeals in 2008. The report says that the Kingdom of Sau- di Arabia provided a total of $4.6 billion to 18 humanitarian appeals. Some 43 million peo- ple received aid through 500 aid agencies. The kingdom’s assistance amounted to 19 per- cent of its gross domestic product. General introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Ara- bia has implemented a num- ber of political and economic reforms to encourage political participation, promote eco- nomic growth, increase for- eign investment and expand employment opportunities. It held municipal elections as part of a comprehensive streamlining of local govern- ment. In addition, the king- dom is promoting a free mar- ket economy by privatizing major state enterprises, es- tablishing regulatory authori- ties to carry out reforms, im- proving foreign investment laws, revising a broad range of commercial laws and im- plementing intellectual prop- erty rights to foster innova- tion. It also became a member of the World Trade Organiza- tion in December 2005. This February, King Abdullah re- organized the Council of Min- isters and senior advisers, ap- pointing the first woman to the council to demonstrate his commitment to change. Growth amid the downturn The best indicator of Saudi Arabia’s economic growth is the increase in GDP, from $20 billion in 1970 to $467.5 billion in 2008. Saudi Arabia’s econo- my is the largest in the Middle East. The kingdom ranked 27th overall in the Global Busi- ness Competitiveness Report for 2008-2009, which was re- leased in October 2008 by the World Economic Forum. Saudi Arabia has been rated as the 13th most economically competitive country in the world, according to the Inter- national Finance Corp.-World Bank annual Doing Business report issued this month. The report, Doing Business 2010: Reforming Through Difficult Times, which is based on data gathered from 183 countries from June 2008 to May 2009, al- so ranks Saudi Arabia ahead of advanced economies such as Japan and Germany. On Dec. 22, 2008, the Minis- try of Finance estimated that 2008 total revenue will be $293.3 billion and total expen- ditures $136 billion. It also esti- mated that public debt will drop to around $63.2 billion, which represents 13.5 percent of GDP. King Abdullah announced a 2009 budget of $126.7 billion, an increase of $17.3 billion from 2008. The budget will allocate $32.5 billion for education and research, $52 billion for health care and social development, $19 billion for transportation and telecommunications, and $49 billion for water, munici- pal services and agriculture. Saudi Arabia has been rec- ognized by international orga- nizations such as Fitch Rat- ings, Moody’s Investors Ser- vice and Standard & Poor’s as an excellent place to do busi- ness. In July 2008, Fitch Rat- ings upgraded Saudi Arabia’s foreign currency and local currency Issuer Default rat- ings from A+ to AA-, and Sau- di Arabia’s Country Ceiling rating from AA- to AA. Stan- dard & Poor’s raised the king- dom’s foreign and local cur- rency long-term sovereign credit ratings from A+ to AA- in July 2009. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil exporter, with the largest proven oil reserves and the largest spare produc- tion capacity. The kingdom has utilized oil revenues to ex- pand and diversify the econo- my to reduce its dependence on oil, which has resulted in impressive gains in the nonoil sector. In 2008, nonoil GDP grew by 4.5 percent to $223 bil- lion. Saudi Arabia’s nonpetro- leum exports increased to $2.7 billion in May 2008, up from $2.3 billion in May 2007. The most significant commodities exported included petrochem- icals, plastics, ordinary met- als and their products, and re- exported commodities. Major imports in May 2008 increased to $8.49 billion from $7.6 billion in 2007, a 12 percent increase. The most significant imported goods were electrical appli- ances and equipment. Petroleum policy With one-quarter of the world’s known oil reserves and 13 percent of world produc- tion, Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading producer and exporter of oil. Its policies on the production, and export of oil and petroleum products CONTINUED ON PAGE 7 Business hub: The commercial center in downtown Jidda King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Riyadh icon: Al-Faisaliah Tower was the first of the startling new structures to rise above the Saudi Arabian capital’s skyline. On its 34 floors there’s a five-start hotel, four exclusive restaurants, a shopping mall, offices and apartments. The needlepoint pinnacle is 267 meters above the ground. EMBASSY OF SAUDI ARABIA

Transcript of Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world...

Page 1: Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world stageclassified.japantimes.com/nationalday/pdfs/20090923-saudiarabia.pdfSep 23, 2009  · President Asif Ali Zardari, Philippine President Gloria

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 9/23/2009 PAGE: 6 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 15:47:56

9/23/199 / / PT JTE/PG 6/ED 1

6 THE JAPAN TIMES WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 (3)

Saudi Arabia national day

Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world stageAbdulaziz A. TurkistaniAMBASSADOR OF THE KINGDOM

OF SAUDI ARABIA

------------------------------------------

On the occasion of the 79th Na-tional Day of the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia,we would like,on behalf of theCustodian ofthe Two HolyMosques KingAbdullah binAbdulaziz, HisRoyal HighnessCrown Prince Sultan bin Ab-dulaziz and the people of SaudiArabia, to express our sinceregreetings and best wishes toTheir Imperial Majesties Em-peror Akihito and EmpressMichiko, and the people of Ja-pan.

In 1932, the Founder KingAbdulaziz Al-Saud establishedthe modern Kingdom of SaudiArabia. In a few short de-cades, the kingdom has trans-formed itself from a desert na-tion to a modern, sophisticat-ed state and a major player onthe international stage.KAUST

Today, Sept. 23, 2009, theKing Abdullah University forScience and Technology

(KAUST) will open as the Cus-todian of the Two HolyMosques King Abdullah binAbdulaziz Al-Saud envisagedfor 25 years. Located along theRed Sea, 80 km north of Jiddain Thuwal, KAUST aims to bea world-class graduate re-search university that willsupport scientific discoveryand human advancement.World Conference on Dialogue

To initiate his endeavor oflaunching an interfaith dia-logue initiative, King Abdul-lah bin Abdulaziz convened ameeting of more than 500 Mus-lim scholars from around theworld for the International Is-lamic Conference for Dia-logue, which was organized bythe Muslim World League andtook place in Mecca on June 4,2008. The conference high-lighted the importance of dia-logue, and emphasized theneed for the faiths and cul-tures of the world to combatextremism and intolerance.Instead of allowing thesethreats to divide people, KingAbdullah’s vision was to bringpeople together.

The Mecca conference wasfollowed by the World Confer-ence on Dialogue in Madrid,

Spain, on July 16, 2008. Thethree-day conference, hostedby King Abdullah and KingJuan Carlos I of Spain,brought together 300 delegatesfrom around the world, repre-senting Islam, Buddhism,Christianity, Confucianism,Hinduism, Judaism and Shin-to. The Madrid conferencewas also organized by theMuslim World League. In thefinal statement of the Madridconference, the participantsurged the United Nations toconvene a special session ofthe General Assembly on in-terfaith dialogue as a means tohighlight the importance of in-terfaith dialogue among worldleaders.

In what became a culmina-tion and continuation of grow-ing unity, world leaders gath-ered at the U.N. to take thenext step in building a con-structive dialogue among thefollowers of the world’s reli-gions. King Abdullah wasjoined by more than 25 worldleaders — including U.N. Sec-retary General Ban Ki Moon,U.S. President George W.Bush, British Prime MinisterGordon Brown, PakistanPresident Asif Ali Zardari,Philippine President GloriaMacapagal Arroyo and Jor-dan’s King Abdullah II. In hisopening remarks, King Abdul-lah emphasized the impor-tance of dialogue and under-standing when he said:‘‘Human beings were createdas equals and partners on thisplanet; either they live togeth-er in peace and harmony orthey will inevitably be con-sumed by the flames of misun-derstanding, malice and ha-tred.’’Saudi foreign aid

According to a report by theU.N. Coordination Office forHumanitarian Affairs, SaudiArabia is the No. 1 contributoramong countries that provid-ed funds to U.N. humanitarianappeals in 2008. The report

says that the Kingdom of Sau-di Arabia provided a total of$4.6 billion to 18 humanitarianappeals. Some 43 million peo-ple received aid through 500aid agencies. The kingdom’sassistance amounted to 19 per-cent of its gross domesticproduct.General introduction

The Kingdom of Saudi Ara-bia has implemented a num-ber of political and economicreforms to encourage politicalparticipation, promote eco-nomic growth, increase for-eign investment and expandemployment opportunities. Itheld municipal elections aspart of a comprehensivestreamlining of local govern-ment. In addition, the king-dom is promoting a free mar-ket economy by privatizingmajor state enterprises, es-tablishing regulatory authori-ties to carry out reforms, im-proving foreign investmentlaws, revising a broad rangeof commercial laws and im-plementing intellectual prop-erty rights to foster innova-tion. It also became a memberof the World Trade Organiza-tion in December 2005. ThisFebruary, King Abdullah re-organized the Council of Min-isters and senior advisers, ap-pointing the first woman to thecouncil to demonstrate hiscommitment to change.

Growth amid the downturnThe best indicator of Saudi

Arabia’s economic growth isthe increase in GDP, from $20billion in 1970 to $467.5 billionin 2008. Saudi Arabia’s econo-my is the largest in the MiddleEast. The kingdom ranked27th overall in the Global Busi-ness Competitiveness Reportfor 2008-2009, which was re-leased in October 2008 by theWorld Economic Forum.

Saudi Arabia has been ratedas the 13th most economicallycompetitive country in theworld, according to the Inter-national Finance Corp.-WorldBank annual Doing Businessreport issued this month. Thereport, Doing Business 2010:Reforming Through DifficultTimes, which is based on datagathered from 183 countriesfrom June 2008 to May 2009, al-so ranks Saudi Arabia aheadof advanced economies suchas Japan and Germany.

On Dec. 22, 2008, the Minis-try of Finance estimated that2008 total revenue will be$293.3 billion and total expen-ditures $136 billion. It also esti-mated that public debt willdrop to around $63.2 billion,which represents 13.5 percentof GDP.

King Abdullah announced a2009 budget of $126.7 billion, anincrease of $17.3 billion from2008. The budget will allocate$32.5 billion for education andresearch, $52 billion for healthcare and social development,$19 billion for transportationand telecommunications, and$49 billion for water, munici-pal services and agriculture.

Saudi Arabia has been rec-ognized by international orga-nizations such as Fitch Rat-ings, Moody’s Investors Ser-vice and Standard & Poor’s asan excellent place to do busi-ness. In July 2008, Fitch Rat-ings upgraded Saudi Arabia’sforeign currency and localcurrency Issuer Default rat-ings from A+ to AA-, and Sau-

di Arabia’s Country Ceilingrating from AA- to AA. Stan-dard & Poor’s raised the king-dom’s foreign and local cur-rency long-term sovereigncredit ratings from A+ to AA-in July 2009.

Saudi Arabia is the world’slargest oil exporter, with thelargest proven oil reservesand the largest spare produc-tion capacity. The kingdomhas utilized oil revenues to ex-pand and diversify the econo-my to reduce its dependence

on oil, which has resulted inimpressive gains in the nonoilsector. In 2008, nonoil GDPgrew by 4.5 percent to $223 bil-lion.

Saudi Arabia’s nonpetro-leum exports increased to $2.7billion in May 2008, up from$2.3 billion in May 2007. Themost significant commoditiesexported included petrochem-icals, plastics, ordinary met-als and their products, and re-exported commodities. Majorimports in May 2008 increased

to $8.49 billion from $7.6 billionin 2007, a 12 percent increase.The most significant importedgoods were electrical appli-ances and equipment.Petroleum policy

With one-quarter of theworld’s known oil reserves and13 percent of world produc-tion, Saudi Arabia is theworld’s leading producer andexporter of oil. Its policies onthe production, and export ofoil and petroleum productsCONTINUED ON PAGE 7Business hub: The commercial center in downtown Jidda

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz

Riyadh icon: Al-Faisaliah Tower was the first of the startling new structures to rise above theSaudi Arabian capital’s skyline. On its 34 floors there’s a five-start hotel, four exclusiverestaurants, a shopping mall, offices and apartments. The needlepoint pinnacle is 267 metersabove the ground. EMBASSY OF SAUDI ARABIA

Page 2: Saudi Arabia affirms its place on world stageclassified.japantimes.com/nationalday/pdfs/20090923-saudiarabia.pdfSep 23, 2009  · President Asif Ali Zardari, Philippine President Gloria

The Japan Times PUBDATE: 9/23/2009 PAGE: 7 C M Y K OUTPUT TIME: 18:59:25

9/23/199 / / PT JTE/PG 7/ED 1

(3) THE JAPAN TIMES WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2009 7

Saudi Arabia national day/world

Bonds strengthen asrange of ties expandsHiromasa YonekuraCHAIRMAN, JAPAN-SAUDI ARABIA SOCIETY

------------------------------------------

On behalf of the Japan-SaudiArabia Society, I would like toextend my con-gratulations tothe Custodianof the Two HolyMosques KingAbdullah binAbdulaziz, HisRoyal HighnessCrown PrinceSultan bin Abdulaziz and thepeople of the Kingdom of Sau-di Arabia on the occasion oftheir 79th National Day.

I was appointed as the newchairman of the Japan-SaudiArabia Society in July to suc-ceed Keiichi Konaga, who hadled the society for 16 years,and was dedicated to fosteringclose ties among the people ofthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabiaand Japan.

Since diplomatic relationswere established in 1956, thekingdom and Japan have beendeveloping a very strong rela-tionship, which initially cen-tered on trade in oil and indus-trial products, and is now con-tinuing to grow to includeinvestment, technological co-operation and human re-source development, as wellas sports and cultural ex-changes. It is indeed a plea-sure and an honor for me tohave the opportunity to workwith the society to furtherstrengthen the bonds betweenthe two countries.

The people of Saudi Arabiaand Japan, both valuing trustand integrity, are excellentpartners for one another. Su-mitomo Chemical, where Iserve as chairman, has estab-lished the Rabigh Refiningand Petrochemical Co., alsoknown as Petro Rabigh, withSaudi Aramco in Rabigh, a

city on the west coast of thekingdom. The joint venturestarted operations of a world-scale integrated oil refiningand petrochemical complex inApril, which is expected to de-liver long-term outstandingcompetitiveness. I stronglybelieve it is mutual trust andcommitment to integrity thathas made this significant pro-ject possible.

Last May, H.E. Dr. Abdula-ziz Abdulsattar Turkistaniwas assigned to Tokyo as thenew Saudi Arabian ambassa-dor to Japan. We are delightedto welcome back AmbassadorTurkistani, who had previous-ly been in Japan for eightyears, and earned his mas-ter’s degree and completed aPh.D. course at Japanese uni-versities. Ambassador Turk-istani has a broad knowledgeof Japanese culture and soci-ety, and speaks Japanese flu-ently.

Since his arrival, the newambassador has been activemeeting leaders in Japanfrom diverse fields, includingbusiness, religion, art, jour-nalism and academia. I ad-mire his commitment anddedication to promoting faceto face communication, andmutual understanding.

We at the Japan-Saudi Ara-bia Society would like to contin-ue to support and work togetherwith the governments and thepeople of the two countries tofurther strengthen, and expandthe friendship and partnershipbetween the Kingdom of SaudiArabia and Japan.

Congratulations and my bestwishes to King Abdullah bin Ab-dulaziz and Crown Prince Sul-tan bin Abdulaziz, and the peo-ple of the Kingdom of SaudiArabia for continued peace andprosperity for many years tocome.

Israel nears decisiontime on Iran’s nukesANALYSIS------------------------------------------

Dan WilliamsJerusalemREUTERS

------------------------------------------

The orchestrated roar of airforce exercises designed tosignal Israel’s readiness to at-tack Iranian nuclear facilitiesare belied, perhaps, by a farquieter project deep beneaththe western Jerusalem hills.

Dubbed ‘‘Nation’s Tunnel’’by the media and screenedfrom view by governmentguards, it is a bunker networkthat would shelter Israeli lead-ers in an atomic war — earth-bound repudiation of the Jew-ish state’s vow to deny its foesthe bomb at all costs.

Lash out or dig in? Thequandary Israelis call existen-tial seems close to the decisionpoint. Iran’s uranium enrich-ment has already producedenough raw fuel for one nucle-ar weapon, U.N. inspectorssay, though Tehran denieshaving military designs.

Next month’s internationalgood-faith talks offer no clearrelief to Israel, which wantsworld powers to be preparedto penalize Iran’s vulnerableenergy imports but sees Rus-sia and China blocking anysuch resolution at the U.N. Se-curity Council.

That the Obama adminis-tration signed on to negotiat-ing without preconditions — apotential disavowal of the pastdemand by the United Statesfor an enrichment halt — mayonly crank up Israeli PrimeMinister Benjamin Netanya-hu’s ticking clock.

Yet for every expert or diplo-mat bracing for an imminentattack, there is another who an-ticipates that Israel will beforced to stand down, hobbledby tactical limitations and thestrategic hazards of ruining itstop ally’s regional agenda.

‘‘Israel cannot take actionso long as the United States issincerely holding a real dia-logue with Iran,’’ said GioraEiland, a former national se-curity adviser.

Should Iran not yield, Ei-land said, Washington mightbe able to persuade Moscowand Beijing to back toughersanctions.

‘‘But Israel could also endup alone, with two bad choices— not doing anything and al-lowing Iran to have de factomilitary nuclear capacity,and carrying out a military in-tervention,’’ he said, decliningto elaborate on which choicehe would recommend.

The talks’ duration couldcome down to the pliancy inan Iranian posture that has sofar entailed defending en-richment as a legal right andbrushing off allegations of

warhead research.‘‘If Iran shows a little more

skin, then the talks will drag outlonger,’’ said Mark Fitzpatrick,nonproliferation scholar at theInternational Institute for Stra-tegic Studies in London.

‘‘If doesn’t show any moreskin, then I think there could besanctions by the end of theyear,’’ he said, suggesting thatthe U.S. and Europe could tar-get Iran’s financial sector.

Assumed to have the MiddleEast’s only atomic arsenal, Is-rael bombed an Iraqi nuclearreactor in 1981 and carried outa similar raid against Syria in2007.

Aerial and naval maneu-vers, leaked to the media,have told of plans to reachIran, though this time the tar-gets are so distant, dispersedand fortified that even Israel’stop brass admit they could de-liver a short-term, disruptiveblow at most.

Hence Israel’s discreet ar-rangements for living withthe possibility of a nuclear-armed archenemy — the bun-kers, the missile interceptors,the talk of a U.S. strategicshield and of Cold War-styledeterrence based on mutuallyassured destruction.

One government intelli-gence analyst suggested thatIsrael had passed a psycholog-ical threshold by ‘‘allowing’’Iran to manufacture enoughlow-enriched uranium for abomb.

‘‘We keep fretting aboutwhether they will have a‘break-out capacity,’ but real-ly they’re already there,’’ theanalyst said.

World stageCONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

have a tremendous impact onthe global energy market aswell as the global economy.Mindful of its responsibility,Saudi Arabia has remainedcommitted to ensuring stabili-ty of oil supplies and prices.

At the G-20 summit on finan-cial markets and the worldeconomy in Washington, D.C.,on Nov. 15, 2008, King Abdul-lah stated, ‘‘Saudi Arabia hasmade many sacrifices, includ-ing maintaining costly addi-tional productive capacityamounting to about 2 millionbarrels per day, seeking topromote global economicgrowth in a manner thatserves the interests of all par-ties.’’

At the end of 2007, SaudiArabia’s proven oil reservesconsisted of 264 billion barrels.In addition, the undiscoveredresources are estimated at 200billion barrels. These reserveswill allow the kingdom to pro-vide the global market withadequate quantities of crudeoil the world can depend on forits prosperity and economicgrowth. In 2008, Saudi Ara-bia’s oil sector grew by 8 per-cent, constituting 54.4 percentof GDP.

The kingdom has always ac-knowledged that unstable en-ergy markets, and unrealisti-cally low or high oil pricesharm producers and consum-ers. Following the terrorist at-tacks on Sept. 11, 2001, thekingdom dispatched 9 millionadditional barrels of oil to theU.S. to ensure price stabilityand availability. In the fall of2002, to maintain market sta-bility, Saudi Arabia boostedoil production to compensatefor the fall in other countries’production and in the spring of2003, it boosted output to com-pensate for the loss of Iraqiproduction. To continue meet-ing ever-increasing global de-mands, Saudi Arabia in-

creased its capacity in 2004 to11 million bpd and plans a fur-ther increase to 12.5 millionthroughout 2009.

Vast reserves will allowSaudi Arabia to continue to bea major oil producer for up to100 years from now, even withan increase in production ca-pacity to 15 million bpd. In thisrespect, the national oil com-pany, Saudi Aramco, contin-ues to develop new oil fieldssuch as the two discoveredsouth of the Al-Ghawar Fieldin Eastern Province on April15, 2007.Economic diversification

After a historic surge in na-tional capital from oil incomeover a period of years, SaudiArabia took precautions to ex-pand its economic base to min-imize its reliance on this re-source as a sole supply of gov-ernment revenue. Over thepast three decades, the nonoilsector has grown from 35 per-cent to more than 60 percent oftotal GDP.

The Saudi governmentseeks to create jobs throughvarious reforms such as eco-nomic diversification, privati-zation, opening up the marketand other initiatives. The‘‘Saudization’’ initiative limitsthe number of foreign workersallowed to work for any oneparticular company. This wasinitiated to increase the num-ber of Saudi nationals in theworkforce. The National Pro-gram for Training and Em-ployment qualifies Saudi citi-zens, and helps them to findjobs in the public and privatesectors. It is responsible for thecreation of job opportunities,job training and Saudization.

The Centennial Fund is acharitable foundation thatprovides assistance to allyoung Saudi citizens who seekto achieve economic indepen-dence by setting up small busi-ness enterprises. In July 2004,the fund signed an agreement

with the Saudi Arabia GeneralInvestment Authority to worktogether in helping Saudi en-trepreneurs to translate theircommercial ideas into pro-jects. When the fund began asa pilot program in 2005, it hadonly 20 clients. In 2008, the pro-gram had grown to 685 clientsand looks forward to moregrowth in 2009, setting a goalof helping at least 2,000 poten-tial business owners.Women’s advancement

Saudi Arabia’s efforts to ed-ucate and empower womenhave advanced in recentyears. The Ministry of Educa-tion and Ministry of HigherEducation reserve jobs forwomen of distinguished sta-tus. Accounting, banking andcomputer training centershave also been opened to pre-pare women for jobs. Trainingprograms organized by theGeneral Organization forTechnical Education and Vo-

cational Training, and imple-mented by the Ministry of La-bor, have also benefited wom-en. The technological, medi-cal and automotive sectorsare additional industries open-ing to women.

In 2006, Saudi women ac-counted for 10.7 percent of theSaudi labor force. By 2007, thefigure had risen to 14 percent.Saudi Arabia’s women ownmore than 20,000 companiesand establishments, and hold21 percent of total private in-vestments.

On Feb. 23, 2009, the Councilof Ministers adopted new mea-sures to increase job opportu-nities for women by expandingwomen’s health and technicaltraining programs. King Ab-dullah instructed the Techni-cal and Vocational TrainingCorp. to train more women forjobs in computer operations,office work, women’s carecenters and jails.Tourism

Saudi Arabia offers natu-ral and historical wonders,from the mountain resorts ofTaif and the majesty of an-cient Nabatean tombs to themulticolored coral reefs ofthe Red Sea. In 2008, MadafinSaleh was registered as aUNESCO World Heritagesite. While Saudi Arabia hasbeen a travel destination forcenturies, with millions ofpeople visiting the kingdom

each year from around theworld, most visitors have his-torically been Muslims un-dertaking pilgrimages. TheRoyal Embassy of Saudi Ara-bia in Tokyo issues tourist vi-sas, and promotes tourism byconvening tourism seminarsfor Japanese tourists andparticipating in various exhi-bitions with a view to intro-ducing Saudi Arabia as an at-tractive destination.Saudi-Japan relations

Fifty-four years havepassed since the establish-ment of diplomatic relationsbetween Saudi Arabia and Ja-pan. The reciprocal visits byleading figures of the twocountries have strengthenedthe friendly relations sinceH.R.H. Prince Sultan bin Ab-dulaziz’s visit to Japan in 1960,when he was minister of trans-portation.

Now approximately 250Saudi students study in Japanwithin the framework of theKing Abdullah ScholarshipProgram. As a part of culturalactivities, our embassy wel-comes student visits to the em-bassy, and received more than250 students from elementary,junior and senior high schoolsaround Japan in 2008.

Please visit our embassyWeb site (www.saudiembas-sy.or.jp), where you can findnews and information on Sau-di Arabia.

Yeltsin was‘prisoner’of KremlinMoscowREUTERS

------------------------------------------

Former Russian President Bo-ris Yeltsin spent his retirementin a ‘‘golden cage’’ with hisphone tapped and the Kremlincontrolling visitors, a close col-league said Monday in excerptsfrom a forthcoming book.

Current Prime Minister Vla-dimir Putin, who replaced Yel-tsin as president in 2000, forcedYeltsin to celebrate his 75thbirthday in the Kremlin andcontrolled the guest list, formerPrime Minister Mikhail Kasy-anov wrote in his memoir.

‘‘Yeltsin was very upset thatthey forced him to celebrate hisbirthday in the Kremlin and notas he wanted, freely, informal-ly,’’ Kasyanov wrote in the book,excerpts of which were pub-lished in the opposition weeklyThe New Times on Monday.

‘‘I think he then finally un-derstood that he was living asa prisoner in a golden cage. Toaccept this fact was of coursea tragedy for him.’’

Yeltsin, who presided over

the collapse of the SovietUnion and a rapid selloff ofstate enterprises, resigned un-expectedly on Dec. 31, 1999,making Putin acting presi-dent. After his election to thepresidency, Putin, a formerKGB officer, set about claw-ing back central power Yeltsinhad ceded to the regions andstripping powerful oligarchsof their influence.

Under Putin, the Yeltsin erawas widely portrayed as a timeof chaos and corruption, thoughgraft is still cited by Putin’s suc-cessor as president, DmitryMedvedev, as a blight.

Soon after taking power,Putin asked his ministers notto bother Yeltsin unnecessari-ly due to his health, Kasyanovsaid. ‘‘It was polite, but in es-

sence a command: No oneshould visit Yeltsin anymore,’’ Kasyanov said.

Yeltsin later complainedthat his phones were beingbugged, and urged Kasyanovto frequently change his phonenumber to avoid being over-heard, Kasyanov said.

Yeltsin spent his retirementi n a luxurious government-owned mansion and was oftenseen at major sports events. Buthe remained out of public poli-tics even after Putin began to re-verse his democratic reforms.

Kasyanov said the pairfound it difficult to meet afterYeltsin’s 75th birthday cele-brations in 2006 as the Kremlinmicromanaged Yeltsin’s lifeand Kasyanov became one ofPutin’s fiercest critics.

Angola leader quietly marks 30 years in power

LuandaAFP-JIJI

------------------------------------------

Angolan President Jose Edu-ardo dos Santos quietlymarked 30 years in powerMonday, with no public cele-brations about the milestonereached by Africa’s second-longest-serving leader.

State-owned daily Jornal deAngola, which most dayscarries a picture of the 67-year-old leader on its front page,made no reference to the anni-versary and no official eventsappeared on the public diary.

Only at the end of the daydid state news agency ANGOPrun a story in which dos Santoswas praised for his ‘‘undeni-able intelligence, his highsense of tolerance and broth-erhood and his great visionand foresight.’’

‘‘The MPLA (PopularMovement for the Liberationof Angola) does not have theslightest doubt that the life ofPresident Jose Eduardo dos

Santos, from his teenageyears until today, has beenmarked by his absolute dedi-cation to Angola and the Ango-lan people,’’ it quoted the rul-ing party as saying.

Dos Santos’ third decade atthe helm of the oil-rich nationcame four days after an annu-al public holiday celebratinghis predecessor, Angola’s first

president, Agostinho Neto,which included parties and ed-ucational seminars.

‘‘Today’s lack of celebrationis deliberate so as not to drawattention to how long dos San-tos has been in power,’’ inde-pendent journalist and Ango-lan commentator RafaelMarques said.

‘‘If there was a big celebra-tion, it would be an opportuni-ty for the independent mediato criticize the president.’’

Opposition parties and rightsgroups claim dos Santos is cling-ing to power by deliberately de-laying presidential elections.

A presidential poll — thefirst since 1992 and only thesecond to take place since in-dependence from Portugal 34years ago — has been put offthis year until a new constitu-tion outlining the electoralsystem is adopted.

The MPLA won 81 percentof the vote in the 2008 parlia-mentary election, the first tobe held in Angola in 16 years.

Piece of history: The clay and mud-brick Masmak fort in the old quarter of Riyadh played amajor role in Saudi history. Its fall in January 1902 restored Al Saud control over the city.

Shall we dance?: Russian President Boris Yeltsin dances at apop concert in Rostov in June 1996. REUTERS

Jose Eduardo dos Santos

‘Israel could end upwith two bad choices —not doing anything andallowing Iran to havede facto militarynuclear capacity, andcarrying out a militaryintervention.’GIORA EILAND, FORMER ISRAELI

NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER