Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, arrived in Jeddah tonight at the end of his tour of the Eastern Province. Earlier today, he inspected the progress of a new 270-bed hospital in Al-Hasa. Yesterday he inaugurated a project of transporting desalinated water and electric power from Al-Khobar to Abqaiq and Hofuf, and laid the foundation stone for the Abdullah Military City for the National Guard in Al-Hasa.

Yesterday, the Crown Prince laid the foundation stone for the Al-Hasa Development Company's factory in Al-Hasa for the production of clothing, including the traditional cloaks known as 'bisht'. The factory, which will have a productive capacity of 12 million yards, will provide job opportunities for local Saudi youths. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of Industry and Electricity Dr. Hashem Yamani referred to the three industrial areas that have been set up in the Eastern Province, two in Dammam and one in Hofuf, in addition to the huge industrial city of Jubail.

Also on Saturday, Crown Prince Abdullah received in Dammam in separate meetings the chairmen of the American oil companies Exxon and Mobil, who each presented initial offers for investment in the fields of petroleum and gas in Saudi Arabia. These meetings were attended by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal and Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi.

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