Shura members informed of Saudi security concerns

Riyadh: In a rare event in the history of Kingdom's Shura Council, the Chief of Saudi Intelligence shared a number of issues of both security and intelligence importance with its members.

Answering almost 30 written and another 50 verbal questions from the members of the council in a four-hour session, Prince Muqrin Bin Abdul Aziz, head of the General Intelligence, briefed the council on various measures taken by his department to ensure the security of Saudi Arabia and its people and to enhance its role in international affairs.

The security of the Gulf region and the Kingdom's keenness to reinforce it was the focal point of discussions during the closed door session.

The discussions were part of the council's plans to host officials to talk about the performance of their offices.

Questions

Replying to questions, Prince Muqrin expressed satisfaction with the excellent intelligence coordination between the concerned agencies and organisations in the Kingdom, serving the interests of the nation in the best possible manner.

He also talked on a number of sensitive issues and the strategies taken by the concerned authorities to deal with them.

According to a source, the Chief of General Intelligence gave a vivid sketch of his department's mission and the potential threats facing the Kingdom regionally and globally. Prince Muqrin also dealt with other topics, such as terrorism and extremism and the Kingdom's approach to them.

"The security of the Gulf region figured highly in the discussions at this rare session.

Iran ties

"Most of the questions were about ties with Iran," the source said adding that Prince Muqrin emphasised the Kingdom's relations with Iran will be 'natural'."

Regarding questions from members about the outcome of the National Dialogue Conference held annually in various cities, he said that some topics discussed and recommendations made at these conferences were not translated into action.

According to Prince Muqrin, improvement of the performance of the government department is a prime concern of the General Intelligence Department.

"There are at least 26 government departments that do not entertain women. This is one among the serious matters spotted by us," he said while adding this would not serve the interests of the nation.