The UQU President, Dr. Bakri bin Maatooq Assas, stated that the royal decrees embody the wisdom of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his government. Going in line with the Saudi Vision 2030, the decrees are meant to bring about continuous development, by way of reshuffling some ministries, State institutions and government agencies.

The decrees, by so doing, are sought to meet the requirements of this juncture, realize the aspirations for more efficient government agencies and State institutions, improve the services provided for citizens, and ultimately achieve prosperity and sustainable development.

The abolition, merge and restructure of the competencies and entitlements of several ministries, institutions and government agencies are aimed for making such entitlement clearer, smoother and more precise. Inspired by the State policy, the decrees would help transform the Kingdom from an oil-based economy to an economy based on versatile, non-oil, investment resources.

Deemed to be a paradigm shift for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Vision 2030 is envisaged to boost prosperity, reflecting directly and indirectly on improvement of the quality of life for the individual, family and community. This shall take the form of economic and service projects, providing job opportunities for the youth, or support the State general budget.

Dr. Assas tackled the role Saudi universities should play in this respect, and how they could partake in meeting needs of this juncture, and the junctures to come. To be commensurate with this vision, Dr. Assas pointed out, universities have to keep at pace with the accelerated developments underway, by graduating human resources who show outstanding capability of engagement in the labor market.

This is to be achieved through educational and qualifying programs, and making optimal use of the outstanding experiences we have at the Saudi universities, as well as focusing on the research areas having to do with transformation into a sustainable, knowledge-based economy.

The UQU President, Dr. Bakri bin Maatooq Assas, concluded by praying for Allah to perpetuate safety and security for this blessed country, under the auspicious reign of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, HRH the Crown Prince, and HRH the Deputy Crown Prince. "May their efforts be rewarded, for the good of their country and nation," he said.

Dr. Assas sent congratulations to the newly designated officials covered by the royal decrees, wishing them success to realize aspirations of the KSA Leadership.