He said his country would continue to play a stabilizing role, but added
that because it faced its own challenges, including the need to create jobs
for a young population and cope with political strains across the Arab
world, it would need in the future to focus more of its resources
domestically and within the Middle East.

No cash to West until Saudi given more clout
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arab News - 24 January, 2012
http://gitm.kcorp.net/index.php?id=587692&news_type=Economy&lang=en

Big emerging economies such as Saudi Arabia, India and China will not aid
the West in its financial crisis unless they are given more influence in
running the global economy, Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Saudi ex-envoy to US and
UK, said on Monday.

"The financial crisis and great recession were born in the West, developed
in the West yet hit hard throughout the world," he said while addressing the
Global Competitiveness Forum (GCF).

He said this showed the need to give emerging economies more representation
and more authority in global bodies such as the Group of 20 nations, a forum
of the world’s major industrialized countries, and the Financial Stability
Board (FSB), which discusses regulation of banks and financial markets.

So far, however, organizations such as the FSB “have yet to take these new
realities into consideration,” while the G20 is making little headway in
coordinating economic policymaking around the world, he said. Big emerging
economies’ lack of influence in international bodies reduces their
willingness to contribute money to fight the global crisis, the prince
warned.

Prince Turki noted that the Saudi central bank’s holdings of roughly $ 360
billion in foreign securities, most of them in the form of US Treasuries,
helped to underpin the value of the US dollar and the stability of the
global economy.

He said his country would continue to play a stabilizing role, but added
that because it faced its own challenges, including the need to create jobs
for a young population and cope with political strains across the Arab
world, it would need in the future to focus more of its resources
domestically and within the Middle East.

The Arab Monetary Fund, a regional body which lends to governments, and
Saudi development funds such as the Islamic Development Bank need to be
strengthened to help the Middle East develop economically, he said.

“We will continue to support our neighbors where we are able, including
financially, but now we also face new exigencies of our own,” Turki said.