Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stressed on Wednesday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, wants to transform the kingdom into a “normal and strong country that is based on innovation to serve as an example to the Arabs and the world.”
He made his remarks during a seminar at the World Economic Forum in Davos, entitled "The search for a new balance in the Middle East".
Jubeir said that the world is not used to seeing the kingdom moving “quickly and boldly and that there were those who criticized it because it was moving slowly.”
Today, the opposite is happening, especially as it has a youth capacity that makes up about 70 percent of society. Most of them interact through social media and keep pace with developments in the world, and thousands of them study in different countries of the world from Japan to the US, added the minister.
They have experience and ambitions. They also have confidence in leadership to open doors for both men and women, which will allow our country to move forward, he stressed.
"To achieve this, attention has been paid to the areas of entertainment, innovation, media and anti-corruption, as well as to bringing investment and entrepreneurship," he said, citing the NEOM City project, which relies on technology, artificial intelligence and clean energy.
On the Iranian regime, Jubeir said that since 1979, the Iranian Revolution has changed the Middle East to the worse through its sectarian policies and its continued interference in the affairs of other countries as it seeks to export the revolution.
He pointed out that Iran has established “Hezbollah” in Lebanon and the Houthi militia in Yemen and is involved in attacks against embassies and diplomats. It is also working on exporting terrorism to Europe, Latin America and other regions.
“Iran has to decide if it wants to be a country that respects international law,” he added.
“Saudi Arabia has sought for 35 years to communicate with Iran and all it got in return was death and destruction as Tehran carried out terrorist attacks and assassinations,” he stressed.
He also accused it of recruiting people to carry out terrorist attacks inside and outside the kingdom.
Moreover, he condemned “Hezbollah”, saying that Saudi Arabia’s efforts to weaken the party in favor of strengthening the Lebanese state is a positive act.
Regarding Yemen, he explained that Saudi Arabia had responded to the Yemeni legitimate government's appeal to defeat the Houthis and it has cooperated with its allies to that end.
He said that the Iranian-backed Houthi militia would not be allowed to be another version of the terrorist group “Hezbollah” in Yemen.
Jubeir held a number of bilateral meetings with presidents, ministers and politicians in Davos. Talks covered regional and international developments, as well as means of bolstering bilateral cooperation.
