Yes Glock that is true we are the well paid infidels doing what they won't do. Can you blame them? I sure can't. Much like the UAE they don't lift a finger the natives that is and the outsiders do the work. My friend worked in Saudi for 5 years doing aircraft maintenance and had it not been for the pay he wouldn't have stayed, he said it was like being in the joint on work release. and if it weren't for oil they'd be ass deep in turmoil from the rest of the M/E.
It's the Oil, off course. But Saudi-Arabia has introduced laws to regularize foreign share of workers in its industry and to promote own workers in industry.
I do not know where you got your optimism from that if the USA wasn't there Saudi Arabia would not have that position it currently has.
The World is getting more and more multi-polar, others waiting to get there where USA leaves.
Saudi-Arabia is not competitive in high-quality industry, but has advantages in cost-intensive industries like Petro-chemistry. They have the coins therefore. And more and more they getting these industries established and if existing, expanded on their own by their own human ressources.
Saudi-Arabia has 26 Mio cititizens (50% under 16 year age) and will rise in 2020 to 47 Mio citizens.
The Saudi education budget is constantly rising the last years reaching 2005 19 Billion Dollars, that's 7th largest education budget in the world and one of the highest per capita.
In other words Saudi education budget reached 9% of GDP in last years.
2005 there was alone spent 3,73 billion dollars in Laboratories and computers for about 2.000 schools.
And in 2005 there was tender to build 400 new schools under BOT (build operate transfer) model.
With a population increase of 4% per year every year 250.000 new jobs have to be created and existing workless rate is 15%. And working places in Petro industry is limited, therefore Saudi kingdom is "Saudi-Arabizatiing" current workplaces replacing foreign workers with local workers.
But even this will not be enough to face the problems of Saudi-Arabian population increase. Therefore Saudi Kingdom has introduced a 624 billion Dollar investment programm and plans to eradicate workless rate to 0 % within 5 years.
In this context till 2020 are invested in these sectors:
- 140 Billion Infrastructure
- 92 Billion Petro-chemistry
- 89 Billion Electricity production and water management
- 60 Billion telecommunication
- 53 Billion Tourism
- 11 Billion Information technology
...
...
...
One of the biggest projects the Saudis currently have is
- 26 billion Dollar worth King Abdullah economic city near Jeddah
- Knowledge economic city in Medina
- Prince Abdul Aziz Economic City
- 3.700 KM of railway connecting the country
- 2,6 mio square meters big sea-port, makeing it one of the biggest in the world
Many Saudis will so find new jobs and Saudi economy gets diversified from Oil income. And extensive budgeting for education in Saudi Arabia in the last years shows that Saudi King is making serious to transform the country into the future.
In the last years even there were build high-qualificated 34 industrial training centres, 16 higher economic schools, 3 agrarindustry faculties and 5 technical Inspectors Institutes.
Saudi Arabia is aiming to educate within 3 years through these centers 300.000 high-qualification workers to make possible "Saudi-Arabaization" of Saudi workplaces in the country.
Also Saudi Arabia became on 11 December 2005 WTO member and non oil income of Saudi-Arabia is rising due to remove of customs duties to many countries.
So don't underestimate Saudi-Arabia as they are a heavy country and by "Saudi-Arabization" of the Gulf by the Gulf Cooperation Council
http://www.gcc-sg.org/index_e.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation_Council_for_the_Arab_States_of_the_Gulf
they will extend their influence.
Also they have constantly militarized and equipped their army with different goodies, putting them in a position to face every country in the region including Iran. Maybe in Saddam times this was different. But they have learned
For example only USA or Turkey is able to sink Saudi Navy in the region.
And Saudi Airforce flying into Iran would be no problem for them with their F-15 and now ordered Eurofighter.
72 they ordered but there are
http://news.google.de/news/url?sa=t...o.uk/1/hi/business/6207846.stm&cid=1111503835
and Saudis now probably going for the French Rafaele.
I do not think that it is in Iran's interest to confront Saudi-Arabia either in Iraq or broader Mid-East, as Saudi-Arabia is in very terms superior to Iran.
P.S. the sources for the first part of this posting was the Foreign economic relations Board of Turkey
http://www.deik.org.tr/default_eng.asp
