THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: RIYADH—Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah returned to the kingdom Wednesday after a three-month absence for medical treatment and introduced a number of nonpolitical reforms amid regional uprisings that have toppled regimes in Tunisia and Egypt and infected neighboring Bahrain.
The social and economic overhaul, estimated to cost around 135 billion Saudi riyals ($36 billion), include housing support, funding to offset inflation and guarantee of payment for students overseas, according to a series of royal decrees published on the official Saudi Press Agency, or SPA. They come as political upheaval continues to sweep the Arab world.
"The measures are paying particular attention to housing, unemployment, education and helping the brunt of Saudis who work for the public sector be better protected from cost of living pressures. The unemployment benefits are the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi. "The message from King Abdullah is that he's aware of the challenges facing the economy and steps are taken to address immediate and more medium-term issues." >>> Summer Said | Thursday, February 24, 2011
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