The Government
The system of government in Saudi Arabia is a royal dynasty, and the King, the Cabinet and the Shura Council constitute the executive and legislative powers in the country. There are 20 ministries as well as a number of governmental departments. The Prime Minister is the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Deputy Premier is HRH Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Head of the National Guard, while the Second Deputy Premier is HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defence and Aviation and Inspector General.
During the period of his rule, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz has issued four decrees regarding the organization of the system of government. These deal, respectively, with the constitution, the shura system, regional government and the cabinet. Under one of these provisions administrative and executive government appointments are valid for a limited period of time, generally four years, after which they are either reinstated or new appointments are made, thus making it possible for young and efficient nationals to actively participate in the process of development.
The foreign policy of the Kingdom is based on deep-rooted pillars derived from Islamic teachings and Arab and Islamic solidarity; defending Arab and Islamic just causes; service of Islam and Moslems worldwide; preservation of world peace and stability; and non interference in other countries' internal affairs.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a forerunner in providing aid and assistance to developing countries. The Kingdom's foreign aid and assistance has reached 5.45 per cent of its GDP, against that of the large industrial countries whose assistance rate was less than .2 per cent in 1992. Meanwhile, the UN has proposed that such assistance should be at a rate of 7 per cent of the donor country's GDP. The Kingdom's total assistance up to the end of 1995 reached more than $71 billion in the form of non-refundable aid and soft loans, provided to 70 countries worldwide (38 African, 22 Asian and 10 developing countries) the Kingdom also contributed towards building numerous mosques, Islamic centres, schools, institutes, universities, hospitals and medical centres in various parts of the world. Over the 20 year period, from 1975 to the end of 1996 the Saudi Development Fund offered loans worth more than $5.71 billion to finance 312 projects in 63 countries. The Kingdom also provided humanitarian aid to victims of civil wars and natural crises in Islamic and Arab countries.
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