Geneva, Sha'ban 19, 1435, Jun 17, 2014, SPA -- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia confirmed its commitment to encourage and promote the role of women in society and in all aspects of the overall development. The confirmation was made by Saudi Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva Faisal bin Trad in a statement today during the annual session of the Human Rights Council to discuss women's rights and ways to combat discrimination against women. The ambassador said, "Women in the Kingdom enjoy great care. More than six decades ago, the kingdom established that development of the role and contribution of women is a crucial factor in the process of development and prosperity of every nation." He drew attention to the fact that development policies adopted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud encourage and promote the role of women and what they can offer in every aspect of the overall development at economic, social or cultural levels. He indicated that the State guaranteed the right to free education for women as the most important element as women's education is the cornerstone in the creation of a society that can effectively contribute to the evolution, development and prosperity of peoples. He pointed out that annual expenditure on education rose from 12.5 billion dollars in 2002 to about 54.5 billion U.S. dollars last year, stressing that this is not surprising as the Kingdom is proud of following the tolerant religion of Islam. --More 13:19 LOCAL TIME 10:19 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w