The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session held at Al-Yamamah Palace here today.
At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabineton the content of the two telephone calls with President Mahamadou Issoufou ofthe Republic of Niger and President Dr. Barham Salih of the Republic of Iraq,citing reviewing developments in the region, affirming the Kingdom's positionand its combating of terrorist acts and ensuring the security and stability ofcountries and peoples. The King also briefed the Cabinet on the content of themessage sent to Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of the State ofKuwait.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet onthe results of his meeting with Foreign Ministers of Arab and African CoastalStates of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden and his commending of founding andsigning the Charter of the Council of Arab and African Coastal States of theRed Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
The Cabinet stressed the importance of the Council's role inenhancing ways of cooperation in political, economic and security fieldsbetween those countries, and seeking to achieve their common interests andenhancing security and stability at the regional and international levels, dueto the importance that the waterway represents to international trade andcommunication between civilizations and cultures.
The Minister of Media, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah,pointed out in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency after the session, thatthe Cabinet considered awarding the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques the"Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Necklace, First Class" by the Arab Red Crescentand Red Cross Organization in appreciation of his humanitarian diplomaticefforts, as an embodiment of regional and international contributions andefforts by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the King's leadership, in thefields of development and humanitarian and relief works for those affected bycrises and disasters, and a recognition of the Kingdom's leading and prominentrole in the list of donor countries, as it became a unique model inhumanitarian aid.
The Cabinet commended the care and attention for buildingand renovating mosques by the leadership, praising in this context what wasaccomplished by 'Mohammed bin Salman Project for Historic Mosques Renovation',including development and rehabilitation of 30 historic mosques in the firstphase of the project in 10 regions, upon the directives of His Royal HighnessPrince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Ministerand Minister of Defense, to develop and rehabilitate 130 historic mosques invarious regions of the Kingdom at several stages, for their great position inIslam and the historical, cultural and social depth they represent, in additionto preserving and rehabilitating historic mosques for worshiping.
The Minister of Media stated that the Cabinet reviewedreports on latest developments in regional and international arenas,reiterating the importance of the Kingdom's call for working to achieve theregion's security and stability, and stave off all that might lead to aworsening of the situation as a result of the escalation of tensions andterrorist acts that the Kingdom warned of their repercussions. The Cabinetpointed in this regard to current events in Iraq, and the need for theinternational community to assume its responsibilities to take necessarymeasures to ensure the security and stability of the region.
The Cabinet confirmed what the Kingdom expressed of itsrejection and condemnation of the military escalation and Turkish interferencein the Libyan issue, which constitutes a violation of international principlesand covenants, and Security Council resolutions issued on Libya. It is alsoconsidered as a contrary to the Arab position adopted by the League of ArabStates last December, undermines international efforts aimed at resolving the Libyancrisis; and constitutes a threat to Libyan, Arab and regional security.
The Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First:
Approving the agreement annexed to the agreement of dividingthe divided and the submerged zones, adjacent to the divided zone betweenKingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait , and its annexes.
Approving a memorandum of understanding between thegovernment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the State ofKuwait, and its annexes.
A royal decree has been prepared in this regard.
Second:
Approving a Memorandum of Understanding between thegovernment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic ofIraq in the field of electric energy.
Approving two memoranda of understanding between the Ministryof Energy and the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom ofSaudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Oil, and the Ministry of Industry andMinerals in the Republic of Iraq for cooperation in oil, gas, industry andmineral resources sectors.
A royal decree has been prepared in this regard.
Third:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding regardingpolitical consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdomof Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Burundi.
A royal decree has been prepared in this regard.
Fourth:
The Cabinet approved a protocol to extend the agreementbetween the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States ofAmerica regarding cooperation in the field of science and technology.
Fifth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs orhis deputy to discuss with the Vietnamese side a draft memorandum ofunderstanding regarding political consultations between the Ministry of ForeignAffairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ofthe Socialist Republic of Vietnam, and submit the final version to completeformal procedures.
Sixth:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding betweenthe Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
A royal decree has been prepared in this regard.
Seventh:
The Cabinet approved an agreement between the Government ofthe Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Cyprus in thefield of air transport services.
Eighth:
The Cabinet authorized the Chairman of the Board ofDirectors of the Saudi Space Commission or his deputy to discuss and sign adraft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of space scienceand technology between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and theGovernment of Japan.
Ninth:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding betweenthe General Sport Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry ofCulture, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Korea for the sports cooperation.
Tenth:
The Cabinet approved the organization of the Custodian ofthe Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Complex for theProphet's Hadith.
Eleventh:
The Cabinet approved that the Ministry of Culture is tosupervise the National Museum at King Abdulaziz Historical Centre. The Cabinetalso authorized the Minister of Culture to form the museum's Board of Trustees.
Twelfth:
The Cabinet approved to grant a license to Bank of ChinaLimited and authorized the Minister of Finance to discuss any futureapplications to open other branches in the Kingdom.
Thirteenth:
The Cabinet appointed Jamil bin Abdullah Al-Mulhim, Eng.Youssef bin Hamad Al-Yousifi and Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Jasser as members of theprivate sector on the Board of Directors of the Saudi Post Corporation.
Fourteenth:
The Cabinet approved a number of promotions at 14th rank andMinister Plenipotentiary as follows:
1- Promotion of the following names to a post of (MinisterPlenipotentiary) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
– Hamad bin Mohammed bin Suleiman Al-Jibreen.
– Khalid bin Abdullah bin Ali Al-Salman.
– Abdulmajeed bin Mohammed bin Saad bin Majed.
– Obaidullah bin Munawar bin Awad Al-Harbi.
– Ahmed bin Saleh bin Ahmed Al-Shehri
– Dr. Turki bin Mohammed bin Salem Al-Qahtani.
– Faisal bin Falah bin Rabah Al-Harbi.
– Ahmed bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Salama.
– Ehab bin Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al-Najjar.
– Youssef bin Mohammed bin Hamed Al-Balawi.
– Ali bin Saad bin Ali Al-Qahtani.
2- Youssef bin Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Dakhil Allah ispromoted to the post of Chief Notary Public (14th rank) at the Ministry ofJustice.
3- Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed bin Hamoud Al-Otaibi is promotedto Assistant Undersecretary of Meteorology (14th rank) at the General Authorityof Meteorology and Environment
4- Abdulhadi bin Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad Al-Omari ispromoted to the Director General of Environmental Metrology (14th rank) at theGeneral Authority of Meteorology and Environment.
The Cabinet reviewed a number of general topics on its agenda and made appropriate recommendations in their regard.
