Al-Assaf: Kingdom's economy is eligible to cope with the world financial crisis

London, Mar. 13, SPA -- Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Minister
of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in London to take part in
the G-20 finance ministers meeting, has confirmed the firmness of the
Saudi economy and ability to cope with the challenges of the current
world financial crisis.

In a key address before a party held in his honor by the Arab-British
Chamber of Commerce in London last night, Al-Assaf expressed hope
that the G-20 meeting would come out with the prescribed goals,
citing the revival of the world economy, prevention of repeating the
crisis again and drive on the right track.

The matter requires strong policies and decisions by key economies
like the United States, European Union, China and Japan in addition
to the rest of the G-20 members including Saudi Arabia, he said.

In the short run, it is expected that all members of the group take
necessary financial and monetary policies to contain the crisis
immediate effects, he added.

He confirmed that Saudi Arabia is among the best to confront the
current financial crisis, citing the vast savings of the Kingdom of
Saudi Arabia over last year amounting to SR1.1. trillion, the highest
in the Kingdom's history.

Investments grew by 36 percent last fiscal year, he explained.
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