Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, SPA:
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session which was held at Al-Azizyah Palace in Al-Khobar, Eastern Region, on Tuesday afternoon.
At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of his state visit to the Republic of Tunisia and his talks with President Beji Caid Essebsi and senior officials on the prospects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and the latest regional and international developments. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques thanked the Tunisian leadership and people for the warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to him and the accompanying delegation, affirming that the agreements signed and projects launched during the visit, do reflect the deep-rooted relations between the two brotherly countries and the keenness on ways of developing and promoting them in all fields.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also briefed the Cabinet on the positive outcomes of the Arab Summit (Summit of Determination and Solidarity) which was held in Tunisia and the outcomes of his meetings with a number of the leaders and heads of delegations of the Arab countries as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations who participated in the 30th Arab Summit, wishing the Tunisian President all success during his current presidency of the summit to further support the march of joint Arab action in order to achieve the aspirations of the Arab peoples.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah, Minister of Media, said that the Cabinet underlined the contents of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' speech before the summit which assured that the Palestinian Cause would remain on top of the Kingdom's concerns until the Palestinian people restore all their legitimate rights. The monarch reiterated the Kingdom's categorical rejection of any measures that would infringe the Syrian sovereignty over the Golan Heights, belief in the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis that ensures Syria's security, unity and sovereignty, support for the efforts of the United Nations to reach a political solution in Yemen in accordance with the three references, demand that the international community should coerce the Iran-backed Houthi militias to stop their aggressive practices that have caused sufferings of the Yemeni people, and support for the UN efforts keen on the unity of Libya, its territorial integrity and elimination of terrorism threatening it. The King's speech called upon the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to confront the aggressive policies of the Iranian regime and stop its support for terrorism in the world and affirmed that Kingdom of Saudi Arabia continues to support efforts to combat terrorism and extremism at all levels.
The Cabinet welcomed "Tunisia Declaration" which included assurances about the issues and political, security, economic and cultural challenges facing the Arab nation.
The Cabinet lauded the outcomes of the 11th meeting, held in Tunisia by the Arab Ministerial Quartet Committee in charge of following-up the crisis with Iran and ways of addressing its interferences in the internal affairs of the Arab countries, including the committee's condemnation of the continuation of Iranian interference in the internal affairs of the Arab countries.
The Minister of Media added that the Cabinet affirmed that the royal visit currently being paid by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to the Eastern Region in order to be reassured of the citizens' situations comes within his permanent keenness and care of the Saudi citizens in various regions of the Kingdom and achieving steady renaissance and development for the dear homeland. The Cabinet lauded the King's directives to release all insolvent Saudi prisoners with non-criminal cases, whose debts do not exceed one million Saudi Riyals from jails in the Eastern Region, and payment of all their over dues.
The Cabinet pointed out that the Global Aviation Summit 2019 launched under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and singing of a number of agreements on air services between the government of the Kingdom and a number of countries, reflect the Saudi leadership's conviction that the success of the air transport industry can only be achieved through close cooperation among the countries of the world and specialized transport institutions inside.
The Cabinet affirmed that laying the foundation stone by HRH the Crown Prince for the establishment of the Air War Center and the dedication of the first Hawk jet training aircraft with some of its parts assembled and manufactured locally by Saudi personnel, reflect the Kingdom's keenness on empowering the national military industries and supporting the Kingdom's economy within objectives of the Kingdom Vision 2030.
The Cabinet asserted that the Kingdom's ranking as 13 globally and first at the Arab level out of 175 states on the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) recently issued by the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU), comes as a crown of the great support provided by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince for this sector.
The Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First:
The Cabinet authorized the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture to discuss and sign with the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) a draft memorandum of understanding in the fields of agricultural development and environmental sustainability.
Second:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Cypriot side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism of the Republic of Cyprus on cooperation in the energy sector and forward the final version for further authentication.
Third:
The Cabinet authorized the Chief of the General Auditing Bureau, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Tunisian side a draft memorandum of understanding between the General Auditing Bureau of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Department of Accounts of the Republic of Tunisia on cooperation in the field of accounting, auditing and vocational work and forward the final version for further authentication.
Fourth:
The Cabinet approved the structure and organizational guide of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment.
Fifth:
The Cabinet approved that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is to host the headquarters of the Regional Center for Meteorological Systems.
Sixth:
The Cabinet approved that, proceeding with the Civil Service Council decision No. (1/1391) dated on 12/2/1430H., the Saudi Customs is to continue payment of the nature of work allowance for the employees of the Saudi Customs, retroactive 26/3/1439H.
Seventh:
The Cabinet approved the working rules of the Committee of Preparing Executive Regulations for the Civil Service System.
Eighth:
The Cabinet approved the following promotions at the 15th and 14th ranks:
1. Sami bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim bin Jadid is promoted to the post of administrative advisor (15th rank) at the Board of Grievances.
2. Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Othman is promoted to the post of legal expert A (15th rank) at the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.
3. Dr. Ibrahim bin Muhanna bin Abdulaziz Al-Muhanna is promoted to the post of advisor for security affairs (14th rank) at the Ministry of Interior.
4. Eid bin Jarwan bin Isa Al-Shammari is promoted to the post of administrative advisor (14th rank) at the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta.
5. Judaie bin Mohammed bin Hamoud Al-Judaie is promoted to the post of religious advisor (14th rank) at the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta.
The Cabinet was briefed on a number of general issues on its agenda, took note and made instructions towards them.