Crown Prince Chairs Cabinet Session

The Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday afternoon.

At the outset of the session, the Prince briefed the Cabinet on the results of the meeting of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco including the prospects of cooperation between the two countries, ways of enhancing them, the latest developments at Islamic, Arab and international arenas, and the positions of the two countries towards them.

The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohiuddin Khoja said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on the latest developments at regional and international arenas, especially the escalation of serious violations of human rights and the principles of international law, which threatens the world peace.

The Cabinet stressed in this regard the speech of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the Ministerial Conference of the Seventeenth Non-Aligned Movement held in Algiers, under the title "Strengthening solidarity for peace and prosperity", and its call for an assessment, review of the role and effectiveness of the movement in the protection and promotion of security and stability in the world, and that this role represents an urgent priority for the movement in the next phase.

The Cabinet welcomed the outcome of the twenty-second session of the Conference of Arab Organization for Education , Science and Culture " ALECSO " and the adoption of its action plans, programs, projects, events and activities for the next stage, reiterating the Kingdom's emphasis on the importance of improving and taking care for education and its outputs.

The minister said that the Cabinet condemned the decision of the Israeli occupation authorities to build fifty housing units in the settlement built on the territory of Mount Abu Ghneim and the establishment of a so-called "synagogue" in Al-Quds, calling on the international community to stand firmly against the Israeli violations of various laws and international conventions and its continued attacks on the occupied Palestinian territories, including Al-Quds and the Islamic holy sites.

The Council of Ministers commended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and UNESCO to emphasize the commitment to the principle of promoting the culture of dialogue, reiterating assertion by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud that dialogue is the ideal channel for any differences with others and its support for all humanitarian initiatives calling for it.

Dr. Khoja said that, based on royal directives, the Cabinet was briefed during its meeting held on 04.08.1435 H. on a number of topics and took the following decisions:

First:
The Cabinet authorized the Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense - or his deputy - to discuss with the Comorian side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Defense in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of the Comoros for cooperation in the field of defense, sign it , and then submit the final version for completion of the statutory procedures.

Second:
After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and after consideration of Majlis Al-Shura's decision (119/56) dated 12/11/2013, the Cabinet approved a general agreement of cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Gabon, signed in Riyadh dated 14/01/2013.

A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose.

Among the objectives of the agreement referred to are the promotion of economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries and their citizens from persons with normal and legal status as well as the encouragement of the exchange of visits by economic, commercial and technical representatives, delegations and missions whether from the two countries' governments or the private sector.

Third:
The Cabinet approved the final account of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA) for the fiscal year (2012/2013).

Fourth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Transport - or his deputy - to discuss with the South Korean side a draft agreement on cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of South Korea in the field of maritime transport, sign it, and then submit its final version for the completion of the statutory procedures.

Fifth:
After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), the Cabinet approved the appointment of Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Quwaiz; Dr. Khalid bin Suleiman Al-Rajhi and Dr. Saeed bin Taradh bin Garman as members from the private sector in the CITC Board of Directors for a period of three years.?

Sixth:
The Cabinet approved appointments as follows: 1- Engineer Siraj bin Omar bin Hussein Bakhurji as Director General of Water in the Eastern Region at the Ministry of Water and Electricity (at the 15th rank). 2- Mansour bin Abdulaziz bin Ibrahim Al- Suwaidan as management consultant at the Ministry of National Guard (at the 14th rank). 3- Engineer Ali bin Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Al-Salman as Assistant Undersecretary for Central Services at the Ministry of Finance (at the 14th rank). The Cabinet was briefed on annual reports of the Ministry of Civil Service, the General Organization for Ports and the General Auditing Bureau for previous fiscal years. The Council took note of their contents and issued its directives towards them.

The Cabinet's General Secretariat will submit the Cabinet's decisions issued today to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his directives in this regard.