Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman said that Saudi Arabia was following with serious concern the Iranian regime’s policy of destabilizing the region. In his annual speech to the Shoura Council on Wednesday, the King said, “Iran is a neighbor to the Kingdom, and we hope it would change its negative policies and behaviors in the region and choose dialogue and cooperation.” King Salman called on Iran to stop supporting militias in the region and asked it to cooperate with international efforts regarding its nuclear program, the Saudi Press Agency reported. Saudi Arabia is following with great concern the Iranian regime’s policy of destabilizing the region’s security and stability, the King said while listing the Iranian regime’s negative behaviors such as building and backing sectarian and armed militias, the systematic deployment of its military capabilities in the countries of the region, and its failure to cooperate with the international community with regard to development of its nuclear and ballistic missiles programs. The Monarch said that the Kingdom follows up Iranian regime’s support for the Houthi terrorist militia, which prolongs the war in Yemen and exacerbates the humanitarian crisis there, in addition to threatening the security of the Kingdom and the region as well. The King stressed that the Kingdom is keen on the security and stability of Yemen and the entire region. “Saudi Arabia is keen on giving priority to serving the interests of the Yemeni people. The Kingdom is still calling on the Houthis to show wisdom and reason,” he said while reiterating that the Saudi initiative is the solution to end the conflict in Yemen. Stop Hezbollah’s hegemony The King underscored Saudi Arabia’s keenness on the improvement of situation in Lebanon and standing by the Lebanese people. He urged all Lebanese leaders to prioritize the interests of their people and stop the hegemony of the terrorist Hezbollah over the structures of the state. The King stressed the importance of safeguarding Afghanistan’s stability and security, so that it would not be a haven for terrorist organizations. Vision 2030 aims at prosperous future King Salman’s speech also dealt in detail with the major advantages and benefits of the Kingdom"s Vision 2030. “The Vision was launched for a prosperous country where the future of our sons and daughters is secured, by harnessing an integrated system of programs to raise the level of services in the sectors of education, health, housing and infrastructure. This is in addition to creating ample job opportunities, and diversifying the economy to enjoy solidity and durability in the face of global changes, so that the Kingdom occupies its appropriate position regionally and globally.” The King noted that the National Investment Strategy, launched by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman on October 11, is one of the major means to achieve the objectives of the Vision 2030, and through it, investments worth over SR12 trillion will be pumped into the local economy until 2030. The national economy will receive another SR10 trillion of government spending through the state’s general budget, apart from more than SR5 trillion of consumer spending. “The financial sustainability policies have positively reflected on the gradual recovery of the local economy, and new investments in the Kingdom have continued their steady growth, which was evident in the performance of activities until the end of the third quarter of the year 2021, with expectations of achieving financial surpluses in the state’s general budget for 2022. As for the privatization programs that have been implemented since 2018, they will increase and speed up the quality of services, generate investment opportunities and enhance the sustainability and competitiveness of the Kingdom’s economy,” he said. Kingdom’s gains in global rankings King Salman highlighted that the Kingdom ranked first globally in a number of security indicators while compared to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, and all G-20 countries. Kingdom came second globally in the global cybersecurity index, and achieved first place globally in three other international indicators, including the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, and entrepreneurs’ response to the pandemic, in addition to the government’s efforts to bring down fatalities and infections of coronavirus, the King said while quoting a report of the International Monetary Fund. The King noted that there are over 17.5 million beneficiaries of the Eatmarna and Tawakkalna applications that enabled them to obtain permits to perform Umrah and prayer at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and Al-Rawda Sharif at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah and that is strictly in compliance with all the precautionary measures and preventive protocols to stem the spread of coronavirus. Oil market stability pillar of energy strategy King Salman noted that the stability of the oil market is one of the pillars of the Kingdom’s strategy in the field of energy. “Saudi Arabia believes that oil is an important element to support the growth of the global economy, and hence it is keen to continue working with the OPEC Plus agreement to reinforce its essential role in stabilizing the oil markets. The Kingdom also stresses the importance of all participating countries’ commitment to the agreement,” the King said while noting that this shows the Kingdom’s far-sightedness as well as the success of its petroleum policy, which is represented in its continuous development of its production capabilities, and its permanent maintenance of additional production capacity that proved important to maintain the security of energy supplies.