Pecker is a key witness in the case against the former US president, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payment
The country's infrastructure is also being developed and upgraded, including expansion of the railway system and introduction of a new light rail mass transit project with metro lines and a community bus network in the Kingdom's major cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.
With Vision 2030 serving as a blueprint, the Kingdom is working on the strategic objective of welcoming 30 million pilgrims each year to perform Haj and Umrah. The third phase of expansion of Grand Mosque launched by King Salman is making good progress. Expansion of the building itself covers 1.47 million square metres, including 78 new gates. The various new infrastructure and transportation projects are beautifully shaping up. In Medina, the new Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz Airport was inaugurated by King Salman in 2015. The new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah is expected to be fully operational in a few months. The Haramain Railroad, which has been going under testing for the last four months, will be fully operational later this year. It will shorten the time of the journey between the two holy cities of Makkah and Medina to a couple of hours with the capacity of 60 million passenger per year.
As we focus on the development of our country and bringing about prosperity for our people, we continue to face the challenges in our region and continue our responsible role as a peace-loving nation. Political and economic stability in the Middle East and around the world is one of Saudi Arabi''s greatest priorities. Peace, stability, non-interference, good neighbourliness and prosperity of the region will continue to be our guiding principles. My country will continue its leading role in countering extremism and terrorism and their supporters.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has maintained its pioneering role in spreading goodwill and compassion beyond its borders by being at the forefront of the international community in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP) earmarked for humanitarian aid. The King Salman Centre for Humanitarian Aid and Relief, since its was established in 2015, has provided humanitarian and development aid worth more than $ 1.9 billion to more than 37 countries in four continents, implementing more than 450 projects in areas of food security, housing and shelter, preventative health care and education.
India is one of our most important strategic partners. In all aspects, our ties have grown and expanded. In the spheres of cultural ties and people to people connection, earlier this year India was the 'Guest of Honour' at the Kingdom's National Heritage Festival and Saudi Arabia is hosting over 3.2 million Indian nationals, forming an important pillar of our relationship. Our energy cooperation and joint investment is set to grow further and our security cooperation is also getting stronger. The partnership between our two friendly countries will certainly continue to grow further in the coming years. - IANS
Pecker is a key witness in the case against the former US president, who is accused of falsifying business records to cover up hush-money payment
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