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 yesterday.
At the outset of the session, in his own name and on behalf of the Saudi government and people, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques congratulated Arab and Islamic nations on the new Hijri year 1433H, asking Allah Almighty to be a year of peace to the Arab and Islamic nations as well as the world, and that all crises witnessed at international arenas come to an end so that whole world may enjoy security and stability.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques then briefed the Cabinet on discussions and consultations that took place last week with a number of friendly countries and their envoys on the latest regional and international developments, including the telephone call he received from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet reviewed the latest developments at the Arab arena, lauding the signing of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) initiative to resolve the Yemeni crisis by the Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the representatives of the Yemeni government, and the Joint Meeting Parties on the executive mechanism of the initiative in the presence of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Cabinet highly appreciated the efforts exerted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and GCC leaders which led to the signing of the initiative in order to stop the bloodshed between the brothers in the Republic of Yemen and to preserve Yemen's unity, security and stability.
The Cabinet expressed the hope of the Kingdom of the Arab Saudi Arabia that the signing of this initiative will be the end of the conflict and the people of Yemen will enjoy security and stability as well as achieve their ambitions and aspirations in building a bright future.
The cabinet noted the efforts of the Arab League Council at the level of Foreign Ministers on the situation in Syria, pointing to the decisions issued yesterday in this regard, stressing the keenness of the Arab States on protecting the people of Syria. The Minister of Culture and Information added that the Cabinet welcomed the speech of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain on the occasion of the Bahraini king's receipt of the final report of the independent commission investigating the facts of the events that Bahrain suffered, praising the sincere efforts and firm desire of the Bahraini king to reveal the facts in all transparency and integrity, confirm the rule of law, and ensure justice so that the Kingdom of Bahrain can enjoy security, stability and prosperity.
The Cabinet addressed a number of events and activities that took place during the week in a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including the tenth meeting of the Joint Defense Council of the Ministers of Defense in Abu Dhabi; the 121st meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs preparing for the 32nd session of the Supreme Council of the GCC in Riyadh; and the 8th Future Forum of the Group of Eight and the Middle East and North Africa in Kuwait. The Cabinet stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination among the GCC countries to face all developments in order to preserve security and stability of the region and ensure normal growth and thoughtful development, stressing that the countries of the GCC are able to maintain their gains in various areas and have proved their leading role in maintaining security and stability in the region in light of the serious developments which have passed since the establishment of the GCC in 1981.
Dr. Khoja said the Cabinet reviewed a number of conferences and scientific, technical, economic, cultural and social meetings held in a number of cities during the past days.
Dr. Khoja then said the Cabinet discussed domestic matters on its agenda and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet approved a number of procedures regarding claims of jurisdiction between the Control and Investigation Board (CIB) and the Commission for Investigation and Prosecution (CIP) regarding article (25) of the criminal procedure regulation.
The cabinet approved the increase of the Kingdom's contribution to the capital of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit from 13,500 shares to 60,000 shares.
The cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance to subscribe to the amount of shares necessary to maintain the kingdom as the largest owner of the shares of the Corporation after the Islamic Development Bank in case of the existence of a financing gap of the IPO to increase the capital of the Corporation.
The Cabinet approved accession of the Ministry of Social Affairs to the membership of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee.
The Cabinet approved the national strategy for the transportation.
The Cabinet approved transferring Abdullah bin Ali bin Mohammed bin Melfi from the post of Adviser for the Classification and Employment Affairs (rank 15) to the post of Undersecretary of Ministry of Civil Service (rank 15).