Saudi king chairs cabinet's session

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Monday afternoon.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed his thanks to the leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States for their efforts in the 15th Consultative Meeting, and what they have shown of appreciation to the Government and people of the Kingdom, stressing that the statement issued at the conclusion of the 15th Consultative Meeting expressed the sincere positions of the GCC States and their keenness on all matters that achieve security and stability of the region, as well as their firm positions towards various Arab and international issues.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques commended the participation of President Francois Hollande of the French Republic as the first guest of honor at the consultative summit, stressing that the participation of the French President embodied the strong relations between the GCC countries and France, and in recognition of the GCC countries of the active and positive policy of France in the Middle East; and in this context the King briefed the Cabinet on his talks with the French President, during which they discussed bilateral relations, ways of enhancing them, and the latest developments at regional and international arenas.

The King briefed the Cabinet on the telephone call received from King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; his talks with the President of Republic of Niger Issoufou Mahamadou; and his meeting with United States Secretary of State John Kerry, commending in this regard the positions of the United States and its support for initiatives aimed at achieving security and stability in the region, and expressing hope that the talks of the GCC leaders on May 13-14 with President Barack Obama of the United States of America contribute to enhancing close relations, coordination and cooperation between the two sides for the consolidation of security and stability in region.

In his statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi explained that the Council of Ministers reviewed a number of reports on the latest developments in the region and the world, including the latest developments on the Yemeni arena, and stressed, in this context, the statement issued by the 15th consultative meeting held by the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, in which they confirmed their support for the urgent measures taken by the Yemeni government to address the difficult and dangerous humanitarian situation caused by the irresponsible practices of Houthi militias and those of former President, and called on the international community to accelerate providing more humanitarian assistance to the Republic of Yemen.

The Cabinet extended its thanks and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his announcement on the establishment of a center for humanitarian and relief works to be based in Riyadh to coordinate all humanitarian and relief works to the Yemeni people, emphasizing that it embodies his keenness to make every effort to assist the Yemeni people and stand beside them in their humanitarian sufferings, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's continuation of its efforts to support Yemen in all potentials to pass the crisis.

The Cabinet stressed the importance of commitment to the humanitarian truce which will begin on Tuesday to ensure intensifying of relief operations and hastening the delivery of humanitarian assistance to the Yemeni people.

The Cabinet expressed its welcome to hold Riyadh conference under the umbrella of GCC for all Yemeni parties wishing to maintain Yemen's security and stability.

The Cabinet also stressed the contents of the speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the opening ceremony of the 22nd session of Islamic Fish Academy of the Muslim World League in Makkah and its assertions that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia did not have a purpose for the launch of the Determination Storm's operation which has received a wide Arab, Islamic and international support, but only achieving the victory for brotherly Yemen and addressing the attempt aimed to turn it into a base from which a regional plot would emanate to destabilize security and stability in the region.

The Cabinet stressed what the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has indicated in this speech on organizing fatwa, establishing its relevant institutions and on his warning of the risk of employing the abhorrent sectarianism against the Islamic nation, in addition to his calling on the scholars of the Islamic nation to step up their efforts to raise awareness of the danger of deviant groups and their conspiratorial objectives against the nation, as well as his call for continuous coordination and cooperation to develop a general framework for joint Islamic action that warns Muslims of suspicions, guides young people to the true path brought by the great Islamic Sharia and save them from the risk of sliding into embracing the deviant ideas and thoughts.

The Cabinet condemned the attack on the cities of Najran and Jizan by Huthi militias using Katyusha rockets and some rocket launchers that targeted homes, farms, schools and service districts, commending the operations carried out by Saudi armed forces with the participation of coalition forces in response to the threat against the two cities to prevent the attackers from approaching the Kingdom's borders.

The Cabinet reiterated the determination of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its intention firmly to continue its efforts to combat terrorism and its financing, praising in this context the Kingdom's hosting of the second meeting of the working group for combating the financing of Daesh militant organization under the patronage of the Crown Prince, noting that the meeting reflects the extent of interest of the international community to combat terrorism and its financing and being aware of the risks that threaten the security of all human societies.

The Cabinet commended the patronage of the Crown Prince of the tactical exercise of special emergency forces 'Superiority of right 7' under the title 'loyal soldiers, loving the homeland' in the presence of directors and commanders of police and security of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and Turkey, pointing to what is being enjoyed by security sectors of the support and care of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the supreme commander of all military forces.

The Cabinet listened to the Deputy Crown Prince on the outcome of his talks with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, during which they reviewed close bilateral relations between the two countries, ways of enhancing them in various fields, the latest developments in the region, and the efforts of the two countries exerted towards them.

On the local affairs, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed his thanks and appreciation to the citizens of Riyadh region for what they expressed during the grand ceremony held in celebration of his assumption of the reins of the government and their expressions of loyalty and obedience in recognition of his sincere efforts towards his religion, homeland and citizens.

The Cabinet commended the economic and scientific movements being witnessed by the Kingdom represented in holding a number of conferences, meetings and forums including the Third Saudi International Conference on Petrochemical Technologies, 5th World Conference 'environment of cities', Forum and Exhibition of Localization of Desalination Industries, Conference of 'Euromoney Saudi Arabia 2015, and 4th Arab Forum for Combating Commercial Fraud, Counterfeiting and Protection of intellectual property rights, stressing that the holding of these conferences, meetings and exhibitions embodies the Kingdom's enjoyment of stability and investment environment reflecting the safety of the economic policies of the Kingdom and the strength of its economy, as well as its security and stability.

Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said that the Cabinet was briefed on the issues listed on its session's agenda, including issues Majlis Al-Shura has taken part in their study and was also briefed on the outputs of the Cabinet's General Committee and Bureau of Experts in this regard. The Cabinet decided the following:

First:

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Justice - or his deputy - to discuss with the Afghan side the draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Ministry of Justice in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Justice in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in the judicial and legal field, and sign it before submitting the final signed version to complete the legal procedures.

Second:

The Cabinet approved the application of the resolution of the GCC Supreme Council in its 34th which was held in Kuwait on December 10-11, 2013, on the approval of Manama Document for GCC Unified Judicial Authority Law as a guide regulation for four years to be automatically renewable in case of absence of any observations by the Member States.

The Cabinet also approved the guide strategy's document of GCC e-Government adopted by the GCC Supreme Council in its above mentioned session as just a guideline.

Third:

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs - or his deputy - to discuss with the Niger's side a draft general agreement for cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Niger and sign it, before submitting the final signed version for the completion of regular procedures.

Fourth:

The Cabinet approved a Ministry of Transport's recommendation to join the 1988 protocol regarding the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974.

Fifth:

The Cabinet agreed to introduce a prize in the name of Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman for females excellence. One branch of the prize will be allotted to theoretical studies in the four fields of literature, humanitarian studies, natural science, and health science. The second branch will be appropriated to practical studies in the fields four fields of social works, economic projects, charity and technical works. Each winner will be awarded Prince Norah shield, a citation and a SR100,000 at an annual ceremony to be graced by the wife of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques or her deputy.

Sixth:

The Cabinet approved the organization of the Saudi Center for Accreditation of Health Facilities which aims at upgrading the level of quality and security of health services in a way that guarantees the safety of patients, developing health vocational and administrative performance in health facilities through accreditation of unified national standards for all health facilities in the Kingdom.

Seventh:

The Cabinet approved the following:

1- appointment of Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Humaidan as Governorate Undersecretary in the 15th rank at Qassim Region Governorate.

2- appointment of Sulaiman bin Wael bin Yahya Al-Yahya as Administrative Consultant in the 15th rank at the Ministry of Finance.

3- appointment of Khalid bin Saroar bin Saad Al-Enzi as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

4- appointment of Mohammed bin Turki bin Ali Al-Turki as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs in the 14th rank at the Royal Guard.

The Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of the Arab League council at the ministerial level at its extraordinary session held on 24/3/1436 H. and the statement issued by the meeting as well as the outcome of the 19th session of the ministers in charge of cultural affairs in the Arab world held from 19-20/3/1436 H.