Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz said on Wednesday, in a speech to the country’s consultative Shura council, that his government was determined to confront corruption with “justice and decisiveness”. King Salman also said the world’s largest oil exporter will work to enable the private sector to become a partner in the kingdom’s economic diversification drive away from petroleum and to engage citizens in developmental processes. “We will empower and encourage the private sector to increase its contribution to development,” he added. In a speech focused on economic issues, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said the kingdom was pushing ahead with its “Vision 2030” economic reform plan to find new sources of revenue for the OPEC powerhouse. But he said that corruption was one of the main threats to economic development. “We have decided, with God’s help, to confront it (corruption) with justice and decisiveness so that our country can enjoy the renaissance and development that every citizen aspires for,” he said. The Saudi king asserted that the kingdom will continue to play a leading role in countering terrorism and its means of financing. “There is no place among us for an extremist who sees moderation as deviation, or who would exploit our benevolent faith to achieve his goals,” he added. Salman also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the US embassy to the city. The Saudi King underpinned the kingdom’s influential role in regional and international organizations, saying that it was working with its allies to confront any “tendency for external interference in the internal affairs and fan the flames of sectarian sedition, and undermine regional security and stability”.