RIYADH, 23 DEC (DNA) – Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday stressed that the kingdom has not been affected by the current drop in oil prices due to years of money reserve.

During the past years, money kept flowing into the kingdom because of the high oil prices, King Salman said in his speech before the Saudi Shura (Consultative) Council, the first since he took office of the oil-rich country in January.

 The major revenues have been allocated for massive development projects, infrastructure and reinforcement of the state reserve, he said. He said the low oil prices will not hinder the implementation of development plans and projects.

He revealed a host of steps to handle the situation, which includes reducing the government expenditure and size by canceling some authorities and councils and increasing revenues of government investments.

Saudi Arabia has been leading an Arab coalition against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi group in Yemen, which it said aims at restoring Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s authority in the country. DNA