In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
We praise before you God, through whose grace good deeds are completed, by whose help efforts succeed, and through whose power hopes are fulfilled. We send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Messengers, who brought us from God that which guarantees the good of this world and the next.
“After this:”
Each of us knows — and continues to know — the magnitude of the great calamity that befell us with the passing of the renewer of our glory and the founder of our state, our beloved father, Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al‑Faisal — may God sanctify his soul, envelop him in His mercy, and grant him a dwelling in the gardens of bliss. By God’s grace, he restored to us the glory of our forefathers and established our state, giving it a distinguished position among nations. His reputation and standing in the world are well known to you, and the legacy he left us — of honor and esteem in the councils of nations — is a pillar of our pride, preserved by the passage of days and ages.
Our only consolation after this tragedy was what God granted us of patience and steadfastness in the moment of grief, so that the shock did not distract us from our duty to continue on the path he laid out for us. What eased the pain in our hearts was seeing your unity around us, your support for us, and your pledge of allegiance — with your hearts before your hands — and the people’s surrounding us with loyalty and obedience according to the Book of God and the Sunnah of His Messenger. This reminded us of what the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him, did with the Rightly Guided Caliphs. It was a consolation for us, for you, and for our nation, and it became a renewed motivation for us to work day and night for the advancement of our country and the well‑being of our people.
Commitment to the Qur’an, the Sunnah, and the Path of King Abdulaziz
From the moment we assumed leadership, our foremost concern was to hold fast to the Book of God, follow the guidance of His Messenger, and adhere to the path of the righteous predecessors. We also resolved to follow the example of our great father in governance, administration, and all fields of reform — to maintain what he built, complete what he began, and do all that lies within our power for the good of our nation and people.
Islam has made governance a matter of consultation among Muslims. Therefore, the first decision we made was to place our trust in you — our brothers, sons, and ministers — and to make you our partners in consultation, so that together we may bear the responsibilities of governing this country. For this purpose, we established this Council — the Council of Ministers — to be the source of all governmental action. Every state matter will originate from you and return to you, each according to his assigned responsibilities and the regulations governing them.
We take this opportunity — the first opening of this esteemed Council — to outline the principles and direction we shall follow in the coming years, by God’s will and power.
1. Strengthening Faith and Upholding Islamic Principles
Our foremost concern is that we all hold fast to the rope of God, and that we adopt every means to instill pure monotheism in the hearts of all citizens, so that worship is devoted to God alone. We will follow the guidance of the Qur’an in calling to God with wisdom and good counsel, especially in schools. We will ensure adherence to Islamic teachings — encouraging what is right and forbidding what is wrong — for Islam commands every good and prohibits every evil.
2. Foreign Policy and Arab Unity
In foreign policy, we follow the path of our great father. Our first priority is to unite the Arabs and support their interests within the Arab League and the Joint Defense Treaty. We instructed our delegation to the League’s first session after our accession to declare our firm commitment to supporting the Arabs and cooperating with them in every field to prevent aggression and achieve shared interests.
Arab delegations hastened to visit us with condolences and congratulations, and we exchanged views with them on matters beneficial to the Arab world. We were honored by the visit of His Majesty King Hussein, with whom we met in Badanah, sharing mutual affection and solidarity.
We also take pride in our friendly relations with Islamic nations, especially Pakistan, whose President, Ghulam Muhammad, visited us to offer condolences and congratulations, strengthening the bonds between our two countries. We are committed to every effort that unites the word of Islam and Muslims across the world.
We all know the cancer implanted in the body of the Arab world — the Zionist entity — which has committed atrocities unprecedented in history, killing and expelling nearly a million Arab Muslims from Palestine. Their repeated attacks on neighboring Arab lands threaten not only those borders but all Arabs everywhere — indeed, they threaten Islam and Muslims across the globe. We will work with Arab and Islamic nations to defend ourselves against this aggression, trusting in God’s support.
Our general foreign policy beyond the Arab world is to strengthen friendly relations with all nations that show goodwill toward us.
We regret the unresolved dispute with the British government. We continue to negotiate to preserve our sovereignty and rights, hoping for a peaceful settlement.
3. Strengthening the Army
Our army is the backbone of the state. Upon it — after God — depends the preservation of our independence. A significant portion of the budget will be allocated to it. We are expanding its numbers, improving its training, and increasing its armament.
4. Combating Hunger, Poverty, and Hardship
We have worked to combat hunger, poverty, and disease. Some regions suffered economic hardship due to drought, so we relocated many Bedouin families to towns and ensured their sustenance. God relieved this crisis with rainfall, and we continue to support the poor and prepare development projects that will create widespread employment.
5. Health Services
We have given special attention to improving health standards. The Ministry of Health has built hospitals and clinics and will continue expanding medical services across the Kingdom.
6. Education
We established the Ministry of Education to teach the people their religion first, and then what benefits them in their worldly affairs. A significant portion of the budget will be allocated to spreading education throughout the country.
7. Agriculture
We established the Ministry of Agriculture to advance farming across the Kingdom. Our land is rich and fertile, needing only organization and support to yield abundantly and even export surplus in the future.
8. Transportation and the Hejaz Railway
We established the Ministry of Communications to improve transportation across our vast land. Plans have been completed for a railway from Riyadh through al‑Washm, al‑Qassim, Medina, Jeddah, and ending in Mecca. Work will begin as soon as possible.
We also contacted Jordan and Syria to revive the historic Hejaz Railway. Both governments agreed, and a conference in Riyadh established the framework for its restoration. A technical team has been dispatched to assess costs.
9. Financial Administration and the State Budget
The backbone of the state is finance. Without sufficient resources and proper spending, no development can succeed. The Ministry of Finance once bore all burdens — developmental, agricultural, industrial, and even military — which is beyond the capacity of any single institution.
We have therefore restructured it to function as a true Ministry of Finance: collecting revenues and spending them according to an approved budget. We ordered the preparation of a national budget divided into three sections:
• government operations
• development and reform projects
• reserves and emergencies
10. Local Governance and Public Participation
To strengthen cooperation between the government and the people, we ordered the establishment of administrative councils in every town, chaired by the local governor and judge, with officials and community leaders participating.
We also ordered the formation of municipal councils to oversee local development.
A five‑year program for major national projects will be presented to this Council for approval.
To ensure accountability, we ordered the creation of a General Audit Bureau and a Grievances Board (Dīwān al‑Maẓālim), to which all complaints will be referred so that every person receives his right.
We also established an expert advisory office to support the Council in technical matters.
Closing Prayer
“We beseech God Almighty to grant us His help, His grace, and His guidance, so that we may achieve what benefits our worldly and spiritual affairs. He is All‑Hearing, All‑Responsive, the best Protector and the best Supporter.”
Peace and God’s mercy and blessings be upon you.