Prince Mohammed bin Salman reposes full faith in KSA youth

JEDDAH: Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, has emphasized the role of Saudi youth in building and shaping the Kingdom’s future, noting that he is optimistic that the Kingdom's future is secure in the hands of its youth.

He said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman is in direct contact and involved on all issues pertaining to youth, and supports the new generation of youth to overcome all obstacles and challenges in their way.

Prince Mohammed was commenting on the annual report of the King Salman Center for Youth for 2015. He said there is no doubt that the whole world is now living in a different age and times, equipped with various weapons, but the center of all this diversity is education and knowledge because youth are the base of all countries and will be the builders and leaders of the future.

For this reason, focusing on the youth is essential in any developmental plans or efforts in order to ensure the growth and renaissance of countries, and in the Kingdom, the king remains in directly involved in all matters concerning youth, he said.

He said the King Salman Center for Youth was established on this basis and continues to shed light on the new meaning and understanding of building a new generation of youth. The center logistically supports youth and eliminates obstacles in their path based on the latest scientific findings and recommendations in this field.

The center also works on creating a spirit of innovation and industry, as well as encouraging the youth to be risk takers and stay away from the fear of trials based on sound scientific programs tailored for different fields.

“I look at the future optimistically, a future created by youth in the Kingdom,” said Prince Mohammed, expressing his appreciation for support and partners of the center, as well as all those who manage the center, and the youth who participated and benefited from its annual programs and activities.

The annual report of the center highlights the main initiatives, programs and activities provided by the center in 2015 to incentivize youth and equip them with the support needed. These initiatives include the “Plan” initiative, which focused on creating a culture of planning among youths via four forums held in several cities. Five social volunteer initiatives were supported, while several training sessions and advisory meetings were held with officials.

The center also organized the visit to 26



international companies to create more opportunities for youth businessmen and expand the scope of these companies. The center also provided a study about outlooks for youth in four areas, namely national youth initiatives, media, small enterprises and social responsibility.

The center incubated 14 projects as part of the Prince Mohammed bin Salman Incubator for Digital Media, which aims to support the development of digital media in the Kingdom by founding Saudi companies specialized in this field. The program provides an appropriate work environment and advisory services to guarantee success, with projects focused on management of social media channels, electronic content, smartphone apps development and digital production.

The center also supported eight young writers in 2015, providing them with the necessary means to publish and market their writing products.

The report also highlighted the King Salman Center for Youth’s recipient of the 3rd Sheikh Fatma bin Mubarak Award for Arab Youth due to its initiatives, programs, and activities provided throughout the Kingdom benefiting 69,000 young men and women. The center was also awarded for its innovation and launch of new initiatives that specialize in addressing different needs of youth and shedding light on such issues in order to better address them.

Meanwhile, Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Riyadh on Wednesday night with the Director General of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, and US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, in individual meetings.

During the meeting with Lagarde, a presentation of the cooperation between the IMF and Saudi Arabia was provided, as well as a discussion on the programs and implementation stages of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program.

During the meeting with Lew, who is visiting the Kingdom to participate in the finance committee meeting between the US and GCC countries, key economic issues between the US and Saudi Arabia in investment and commerce were discussed.

Both meetings were attended by Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf, as well as SAMA Governor Dr. Ahmed Al-Khalifi, and Deputy Minister of Economy and Planning, Mohammed Al-Tuweijri.

The meeting with Secretary Lew was also attended by US Ambassador to the Kingdom Joseph Westphal, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Affairs Adam Zoben, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs Roman Tully, as well as a number of other officials.