Riyadh - SPA:

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session which was held at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh today.
At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on a message he received from Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, and the audience he held for the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde.
In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Dr. Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet discussed the repercussions of events at Arab and international arenas. In this regard, the Cabinet listened to a report on the deliberations of the Security Council on the situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, stressing that the failure of the Security Council in issuing a resolution to support the Arab Peace Initiative should not preclude its endeavor to take decisive actions to protect the lives of innocent people and stop the bloodshed and all acts of violence that threaten dire consequences for the Syrian people and the stability of the entire region. The Cabinet appealed to the international community not to refrain from exerting sincere efforts and to find a solution to this crisis which led to hundreds of Syrian victims, noting that the continuation of violence has threatened to create a humanitarian disaster.
On domestic affairs, the Acting Minister of Culture and Information said that the Cabinet hailed the ongoing preparations for the opening of 27th National Festival for Heritage and Culture, to be patronized by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and organized by the National Guard.
The Cabinet highly valued the order of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to cancel for this year the musical operetta and National dance as part of the opening ceremony of the festival in solidarity and standing with Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia due to the sad events that took and still taking place in these brotherly countries, asking Allah Almighty to preserve security and stability of Arab and Islamic countries.
The Cabinet hailed the opening of the symposium on 'Humanitarian and Social Aspects in History of King Abdulaziz' and launching of Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Chair for Historical and Civilization Studies of the Arabian Peninsula al King Saud University (KSU).
Dr. Al-Othaimeen said the Cabinet then discussed issues on its domestic agenda and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet approved three memoranda of understanding between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Lebanon, the State of Andorra, and the State of Estonia in the field of cooperation in exchanging financial investigations on money laundering and terror financing, signed on 30/6/2010.
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Commerce and Industry, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) -or his deputy- to discuss and sign with the Qatari side a draft technical cooperation program in the field of standardization between SASO and Qatari Ministry of Environment.
The Cabinet approved a scientific and educational memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, signed in Helsinki 15/2/2011.
The Cabinet accredited the final account of King Fahd Causeway Authority for fiscal year (1431/1432H).
The Cabinet approved the establishment of 'Saudi Association for Aquaculture', aiming at encouraging and developing fish and other useful aquatic organisms farming.
The Cabinet approved a number of appointments as follows:
1- Dr. Abdulaziz bin Naif bin Abdulaziz bin Oboud is appointed to the post of 'Amir of the First Regiment' (rank 15) at the National Guard.
2- Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al-Sehaibani is appointed to the post of 'Minister Plenipotentiary' at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3- Dr. Hazza bin Zaben Al-Mutairi is appointed to the post of 'Minister Plenipotentiary' at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
4- Eng. Sami bin Abdulwahab bin Ahmad Abed is appointed to the post of 'Undersecretary of Mayor of Jeddah for Reconstruction and Projects' (rank 14) at Jeddah Governorate.