Jeddah - SPA

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session held at Al-Salam palace here yesterday.
At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques thanked God Almighty for the grace of fasting by all Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan. He expressed his appreciation for the efforts the relevant agencies extended to help pilgrims perform Umrah successfully. He said: 'These achievements are credited to God Almighty and then to the efforts made by Saudi individuals who served the visitors of the Two Holy Mosques. Such success motivates everyone to exert more efforts in preparation for the upcoming Hajj season, and to provide all services to help pilgrims and visitors who come to the Kingdom to perform their rituals easily.' The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also thanked leaders of friendly countries and clerics who  expressed appreciation of  the efforts made by the Kingdom to serve the Two Holy Mosques including the new expansions the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ordered in Makkah and Al-Madinah.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the talks, meetings, consultations and contacts he recently made with a number of leaders of friendly and brotherly countries and their envoys on bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and those countries in addition to ways of enhancing them as well as the latest developments at Islamic, Arab and international levels.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also briefed the Cabinet on the messages he exchanged with Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet listened to a number of reports on the latest developments in a number of Arab countries. Renewing  the Kingdom’s firm stances towards those events, the cabinet  emphasized the importance of giving priority to wisdom in dealing with event in order to stop bloodshed and preserve security, unity and stability of those Arab countries.
Dr. Khoja said the Cabinet hailed the statement issued by the 120th  ministerial session of GCC ministers of Foreign Affairs which expressed the stances of GCC member states towards the latest regional and international developments. Dr. Khoja also pointed out that the Cabinet hailed the statement issued by members of UN Security Council on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of 11/9 terrorist attacks, adding in this regard that the Cabinet stressed the importance of concerted international efforts at various levels to combat and eradicate terrorism since terrorism in all its forms threatens the international peace and security.
On domestic issues, Dr. Khoja pointed out that the Cabinet congratulated Saudi male and female students at all educational grades and in different regions on the occasion of the new academic year.

Dr. Khoja also said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of items on its agenda and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet authorized Crown Prince, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General -or his deputy- to discuss and sign with the Turkish side a draft cooperation agreement in the field of defense industry between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Turkey.
The Cabinet authorized the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior -or his deputy- to renew membership of Dr. Nasser bin Ibrahim Al-Rasheed, Mohammed bin Abdullatif Jamil, Abdullah bin Salem Bahamdan, and Engineer Saud bin Majed Al-Duwaish  to the National Anti-Drug Committee for three years.
The Cabinet authorized Minister of Foreign Affairs -or his deputy- to discuss and sign with the Spanish and Austrian sides and other countries as well as international organizations a draft agreement of establishing King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Global Center for Interfaith Dialogue.
The Cabinet approved the financial regulations of Ministry of Culture and Information cultural activities.
The Cabinet approved amendment of articles (6) and (8) of Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF) regulations.
The Cabinet decided that  Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (Yesser)  shall be a member to the National Committee of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS).