Riyadh, SPA:
The Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet s session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday afternoon.

At the outset of the session, the Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stressed that the success characterized the talks held by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with King Sultan Mohammed V of Malaysia and Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Najib Abdul Razak; President Joko Widodo of Republic Indonesia and Indonesian Vice President Dr. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla; Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei Darussalam, and officials in these sisterly countries, embodies the constructive spirit, appreciation, respect and the depth of relations between the Kingdom and these countries, noting that what has been accorded to the King and the accompanying delegation of hospitality and warm welcome during the visits, and the fruitful talks as well as signing a number of memorandums of understanding come within the Kingdom s keenness and sisterly countries to enhance relations in various fields, expressing his deep pride for commending the King s personality, high status and the efforts being exerted by the Kingdom under his leadership in the service of the Two Holy Mosques, pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors.

The Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Engineer Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen All-Fadhli said that the Cabinet considered the decoration of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques with First Royal State Medal The Medal of the Crown in Malaysia; Medal of Star of Republic of Indonesia; and Medal of Royal Family of Brunei Throne, which are the highest medals in these countries, and awarding the King with the honorary doctorate in literature from University of Malaya, the honorary doctorate in political science The service of Islam and moderation and Award for unique excellence achievement in the service of Islam and the nation from International Islamic University in Malaysia in recognition of his efforts in Islam and Muslims, and his contributions to the service of science for all humankind, as an honoring and recognition of the great status enjoyed by the King, his great achievements at various levels in the service of Islam, Muslims, global stability, and embodiment of strong relations between the Kingdom and sisterly countries.

The Cabinet valued the talks held so far during the monarch's tour that contributed to strengthening the bilateral relations in various fields and promoting mutual understanding for the benefit of the Kingdom and brotherly countries, serving international peace and security, as well as the contents of joint statements, the signing of memorandums of understanding, agreements and cooperation programs, noting, in particular, the establishment in Malaysia of a global center for peace holding the name of "King Salman Center for International Peace," and the sharing of Saudi Aramco and Malaysian company of Petronas, to develop and own a giant integrated complex for refining and petrochemicals in the Malaysian state of Johor.

The Cabinet stressed the important implications voiced by the King during his talks with leaders and senior officials, his visits to universities in Malaysia, meetings with Islamic prominent personalities and those who belong to other religions, his visit to the House of Representatives in Indonesia, stressing the importance of continuing work and promoting cooperation to face the challenges that threaten the Islamic nation, in particular, and the world in general, particularly the terrorism and extremism threats, as well as the clash of cultures and lack of respect for sovereignty and the interference in their internal affairs, and the importance of coordinating the attitudes and efforts and work for more communication and dialogue among followers of religions and cultures to enhance the principles of tolerance, and ensure the protection of human rights and happiness to best serve the common interests and international peace and security.

The Cabinet of Ministers offered thanks to and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for instructing that female and male students studying now at their own expenses in Malaysia be enrolled as part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques external scholarship program and within the monarch's keenness to safeguard the needs of female and male citizens.

Then, the Council listened to a number of reports on the course of events and developments at various arenas, citing the work of the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council, ongoing in Geneva, stressing the contents of the Kingdom's speech before the Council which included the Kingdom's determination to proceed with its efforts to promote and protect human rights at all levels, clarifying its effective cooperation with the organs and bodies of the United Nations in charge of human rights, to continue its efforts in the promotion and protection of human rights based on the principles and provisions of the Islamic Sharia, and emphasize the importance of international community's response to the threats that engulf the values of family preservation and the need to protect them from delinquency, disintegration, extremism, hatred and racism.Eng. Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadhli said that the Cabinet was briefed on its agenda, including some which the Shura Council has participated in conducting studies on them. The Cabinet concluded the following:

First:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the ministry of interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the undersecretariat for national police of the Republic of Korea on cooperation in security affairs and crime combating, which was signed in Jeddah on 15/9/1437 H.

Second:
The Cabinet authorized the President of King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology (KACST), or his deputy, to discuss with the Chinese side a draft MOU between KACST and the Chinese National Space Administration on cooperation regarding Chang E-4 to explore the moon, sign it and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Third:
The Cabinet authorized the President of King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a draft scientific and technological cooperation memorandum and a MOU on cooperation on the fourth industrial revolution between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Japan, sign them and forward the two final versions for legal authentication.

Fourth:
The Cabinet authorized the President of the General Commission for Sports, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a draft annex of the cooperation memorandum concluded between the General Commission for Sports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology of Japan, which was signed in Tokyo on 1/8/1436 H., sign it and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Fifth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of environment, water, and agriculture, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a draft MOU between the ministry of environment, water, and agriculture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of economy, commerce and industry of Japan, for cooperation in the field of water desalination, sign it and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Sixth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of transport, who is also Chairman of the General Commission for Civil Aviation, or his deputy, to sign draft agreements between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the governments of each of the Republic of Uganda, Republic of Ecuador, Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Federal Republic of Somalia in the field of air transport, and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Seventh:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of education, or his deputy, to discuss with The Maldives side a draft scientific and educational cooperation memorandum between the ministry of education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of education of The Maldives, sign it and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Eighth:
The Cabinet approved an agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the United States of Mexico to avoid dual taxation, prevent tax elusion on taxes on income, and the annexed protocol, which was signed in Riyadh on 7/4/1437 H.

Ninth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of finance, or his deputy, to sign a draft agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to avoid dual taxation, prevent tax elusion on taxes on income, and forward the final version for legal authentication.

Tenth:
Having reviewed a report by the minister of economy and planning and a recommendation by the Economic Affairs and Development Council, the Cabinet approved the organization for the national center for privatization.

Eleventh:
The Cabinet approved the organizational arrangements of the General Authority for Culture.

Twelfth:
The Cabinet approved that new employees on field jobs at the General Presidency for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice shall be exempted from the application of paragraph (4) of Article (II) of the Internal Scholarship Regulation for three years.

Thirteenth:
The Cabinet promoted a number of promotions as follows:

1- Abdulnasser bin Hussein bin Oweidh Al-Harthy, Mahmoud bin Hussein bin Saeed Al-Qattan and Imed bin Adnan bin Obaid Madani to the post of ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2- Tariq bin Mohammed bin Bakr Rashwan, Khalid bin Mohammed bin Ghanem Al-Arak and Mishaal bin Hamdan bin Barjoos Al-Rougui promoted to the post of Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3- Ali bin Said bin Maqbool Hassan Al Maqbool promoted to the post of Financial Advisor (Rank 14) at the Ministry of Finance.
4- Khalid bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Muhareb promoted to the post of Administrative Advisor (Rank 14) at the Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers.
The Cabinet was briefed on the annual report of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque for the previous financial year. The Cabinet took the relevant instructions towards it.