The Commentary said: " Saudi Arabia's stock market is the 10th-largest in the world, with $517.6 billion in market capitalization. Furthermore, the King recently allocated $21.3 billion of government funds for the construction of new roads, water-desalination plants and schools through 2006. The King has also decreed that all financial transactions by the government meet generally acceptedinternational standards of transparency. This combination of transparency, substantial funding for improved infrastructure and a vibrant capital market will allow for sustainable economic reform and growth. It also appears that King Abdullah has ended his country's 8-year-old truce with neighboring Iran. Recently, Prince Saud al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, brought attention to the dangers of Iran's interference in the internal affairs of Iraq. The King's geopolitical rationale is correct: The emergence of a pro-Iranian government in Iraq, which lies next to the Saudi oil-producing Eastern Province which has a Shia majority, would threaten the world's largest oil reserves. King Abdullah's recent approval for the celebration of the National Day, may be a strange innovation for a Kingdom founded with the support of the Muslim scholars. The first royal decree celebrating a national holiday is a sign that the tone and tenor of life in the Kingdom will be set by the monarch and not the Ulema (Muslim scholars). Political and social reform has also been on the King's agenda. This year, Saudi Arabia had its first local council elections and, while woman did not yet have the right to the vote, it was an auspicious start. Furthermore, the King pushed for the adoption of a new labor law to replace the old statute number 1668. The new law addresses working women's rights, the obligation to employ Saudicitizens and compulsory retirement to free up jobs for the unemployed Saudi youth. --MORE1322 Local Time 1022 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/305829