exerted expeditious efforts in search for solutions to these challenges. to this end, it has instructed the institute of banking to study the situation and propose practical solutions to help banks bridge such gap over both the short and long terms. the " banker " program comes as a solution complementary to the study programs arranged by educational institutions, and a parallel to the banks'direct efforts in attracting and employing national cadres. we are gathering here today to celebrate the opening of the first course of this integrated program, which hopefully will provide the financial institutions with needed human resources, and offer good job opportunities for the youth of our homeland. in conclusion, i can only reiterate my thanks to all those who contributed to accomplishing the " banker " program, which i hope will continue to successfully achieve the objectives for which it has been established. thank you for listening.

the sound economic management of oil wealth provided the necessary financial resources to confront the global financial crisis in addition to reducing the public debt from 104 percent of gdp in 1999 to 7 percent in 2011 and strengthening the position of net foreign assets of sama. the imf executive board also commended the strength of the kingdom ’ s banking system, which is well - capitalized and has high liquidity levels. it has noted that the banking system has showed an ability to encounter a set of regional and global shocks. the board has welcomed the results of stress tests made by the financial sector assessment program mission which showed a rise in the levels of liquidity and capital held by the saudi banking system, representing preventive reserves that impart more confidence to the banking system ability to withstand shocks. the board members praised the monetary policy of the kingdom which aims to enhance the strength of the banking system and price stability. custodian of the two holy mosques, despite the remarkable achievements fulfilled at all levels, there are still some challenges that you spare no effort to follow up and strive to overcome, such as : first : creating more decent work opportunities for the sons and daughters of this country. despite the good achievements in employment of citizens, estimates show that the unemployment rate among saudis is still unsatisfactory. taking into account the composition of the population in the kingdom, which is mainly dominated by young people, it is imperative to face this issue, exert more efforts and overcome the difficulties encountering the process of creation and saudization of jobs, including continued improvement of education and training outputs in line with the requirements of the labor market, determination of saudization rates by activities and increasing them gradually. it is also important to achieve flexibility in the labor market to stimulate production and innovation and preserve the rights of workers and employers. second : diversification of income sources and reducing reliance on oil as a major source of income. despite the increasing role of the non - oil sector in the national economy, particularly the role of the private sector, the oil sector is still the main driver of the national economy, where most of the country ’ s revenues and receipts of the balance of payments are coming bis central bankers ’ speeches from. therefore, it is necessary to continue to work hard in order to diversify sources of income to ensure the sustainability of economic development in the long run and reduce the risks associated with relying on a single source of income. third : reduction of high domestic consumption of oil and gas, as figures indicate an annual