Word: fahd
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...show of strength was also a reminder of the dangers that confront Saudi Arabia, a fabulously wealthy kingdom that sits atop the largest proven oil reserves on earth. Faced with plunging revenues at home and increasingly ominous military threats abroad, the Saudis are passing through anxious times. Declared King Fahd ibn Abdul Aziz last month in a nationwide address: "We are surrounded by the most critical conditions we have ever faced...
That is a heavy burden for even so rich a country as Saudi Arabia, especially since its great wealth has begun to shrink. From a peak of $113 billion in 1981, Saudi oil earnings dropped to $28 billion last year. Uncertainty over petroleum prices and revenues prompted Fahd last month to take the unprecedented step of postponing approval of the country's new budget until summer. To the Saudis, accustomed to decision making by royal decree, the delay was a sign of indecision and uncertainty at the country's highest political level...
...Fahd clearly plans to keep the Saudi welfare state intact. He pledged last month to continue free education and medical care for all citizens and to maintain generous subsidies for such services as transportation, communications and electric power. Says Planning Minister Hisham Nazer: "The government is committed to providing every Saudi citizen with a minimum standard of living. But once he is healthy and educated, it is the individual's responsibility to improve his condition...
Another source of concern is the stalemated effort to reach a Middle East peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Fahd remains a staunch backer of Yasser Arafat and the Palestine Liberation Organization as the sole spokesmen for the Palestinian people. Despite the collapse of oil prices, the Saudis continue to provide hefty financial support to several other Arab states and the P.L.O. At their meeting last week, the King and Vice President Bush agreed on the need for stability in the region, but they differed on how to promote an Arab-Israeli peace...
...with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal. Lwasani's mission, said a Saudi spokesman, was "related to the current oilmarket situation." A day later, Major Khoualdy Humaidi, a member of Libyan Strongman Muammar Gaddafi's governing Revolutionary Command Council, showed up for a session with Saudi King Fahd. Later, it was announced that the 13-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries would hold an emergency meeting in mid-February...