Riyadh, SPA:
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 Tuesday afternoon.

At the outset of the session, the King praised and thanked Allah Almighty for bestowing upon this country many blessings, wealth, security, stability, development, the State's general budget for the fiscal year 1440/1441 (2019), the continuing support for the economic growth to achieve sustainability and financial stability within the objectives of the Kingdom's vision 2030, and the determination to proceed forward on the track of the economic reform. The King renewed his directives to ministers and officials to quickly implement the budget's programs and projects, emanating from his interest in continuing work to achieve comprehensive development in all regions of the Kingdom and all fields.

The King stressed that the issuance of a number of royal decrees, including re-forming of the Cabinet, restructuring of some government agencies, and appointing of a number of ministers and officials, emanates from the keenness to continue the process of development pursued by this country to achieve aspirations in the performance of State's bodies in their missions and specializations in the best way and upgrade the level of services being provided for citizens and residents. The King welcomed newly appointed ministers, wishing all success for princes, ministers and officials included in the royal decrees in performing their new missions, expressing his thanks and appreciation to former princes, ministers and officials for their exerted blessed efforts.

The King briefed the Cabinet on the contents of the two phone calls received from President Mahmoud Abbas of the State of Palestine, and President Dr. Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and the results of his meeting with President Dr. Arif Alvi of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and Sheikh of Al-Azhar Dr. Ahmed Al-Tayeb, during which they reviewed close relations and ways of their enhancement in various fields.

The Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet expressed its appreciation for His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Defense and Chairman of Council for Economic Affairs and Development for emphasizing that economic and structural reforms in the national economy are moving steadily towards achieving the objectives of the vision to diversify the economy, achieve economic stability and financial sustainability and improve the efficiency of public financial management, stimulate the private sector and work to improve the levels of standards of living for citizens.

The Cabinet appreciated the royal decree based on what has been submitted by HRH Crown Prince to continue the disbursement of allowance of monthly cost of living for citizens of civil and military personnel, pension and monthly allowance for social security beneficiaries, and continue the increase of the financial reward for male and female students for one fiscal year, reflecting the keenness of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to sense the needs of male and female citizens.

The Minister stated that the Cabinet expressed its pride of the Royal patronage accorded to the 33rd version of the National Festival of Heritage and Culture, organized by the Ministry of National Guard under the theme of (Wafaa Wa Walaa) loyalty and Faithfulness, in which the past and the unity of this homeland, embodying the well-being of this country and its people, are remembered.

The Cabinet also lauded the contents of the speech delivered by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, at the Global Conference for Islamic Unity, organized by the Islamic World League in Makkah, citing the firm statement that the Kingdom was, since its inception, following a moderate approach and honored to serve the two holy mosques and their worshippers.

The Cabinet, then, reviewed a number of reports on the latest developments at the regional and international arenas, taking note of the contents of the final communiqué of the Foreign Ministers' Meeting of the Arab and African Coastal States of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, held in Riyadh at the invitation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the outcomes of the meeting, underlying the importance of establishing a group comprising the Arab and African countries bordering the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to practice coordination and cooperation among themselves and weigh the best ways to achieve this end at the political, economic, cultural, environmental and security fields.

Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabana said that the Cabinet, then, issued the following decisions:

First:
The Cabinet approved the two amendments made to the Charter of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, approved by Royal Decree No. (M / 27) dated 17/5/1430 H.

Second:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding in the field of administrative development between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Sudan.

Third:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between Imam Mohammad bin Saud Islamic University and the General Directorate of the Shari'a Courts of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia.

Fourth:
The Cabinet approved regulatory arrangements for Saudi Space Commission.

Fifth:
The Cabinet approved reorganization of the General Industries Authority.

Sixth:
The Cabinet approved forming of a general authority for foreign trade, as an artificial person to be named as the General Authority for Foreign Trade.

Seventh:
The Cabinet approved reorganization of the National Center for Competitiveness.

Eighth:
The Cabinet approved organizational arrangements for Souqur Club.

Ninth:
The Cabinet approved promotions to 15th and 14th ranks, as follows:
1 - Hassan bin Abdu bin Hussein Al-Eizqi to the post of Undersecretary of the Principality for Security Affairs, at Najran Region, (15th rank).
2 - Rashid bin Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Haqbani to the post of Administrative Counselor, at the Ministry of Finance, (15th rank).
3 - Prince Bandar bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Ayyaff Al Muqrin to the post of Counselor for Transport Affairs, at the Ministry of Transport, (15th rank).
4 - Jabir bin Ali bin Aziz Al-Qarni to the post of Administrative Counselor, at the National Guard, (14th rank).
5 - Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Doukhi to the post of General Director for Administrative and Financial Affairs, at the General Directorate for the Border Guards, (14th rank).
Various general issues on the agenda of the cabinet, were also dealt with, including annual reports on previous fiscal years from the General Commission for the Guardianship of Trust Funds for Minors and their Counterparts. Following taking notice of them, the cabinet made appropriate instructions, in their regard.