Saudi King says determined to confront corruption

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz said on Wednesday his government was determined to confront corruption with “justice and decisiveness”, signalling continued support for a crackdown on sleaze involving mass arrests of top Saudis including royals.

In a televised speech to the country’s consultative Shura council, 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.

Saudi security forces rounded up hundreds of members of the political and business elite, including princes and tycoons, in early November: Riyadh said it was a crackdown on corruption but the move was also widely seen as helping Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman tighten his grip on power. In a speech focused on economic issues, Salman 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. Signaling his support for the campaign of arrests, he said that he had ordered the formation of a higher committee against corruption headed by the crown prince. “Thanks be to God that those are a few (people),” he said, referring to the number of arrestees.Salman said the restructuring the kingdom was undertaking did not contradict its Islamic values, which he said were based on moderate Islam.