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 briefed the Cabinet on the results of his brotherly visit to the Kingdom of Bahrain and the meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the contents of the two messages received from King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and President Ali Bongo Ondimba of the Republic of Gabon.
The Cabinet reviewed the results of the visit of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's high-level delegation to the Republic of Iraq, its meetings with senior officials, and the works of the second session of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordinating Council held in Baghdad, citing the gift of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, represented in building "King Salman bin Abdulaziz Sports City" for the Iraqi people, and providing a loan of $ 1 billion to contribute to development projects in Iraq, in addition to $ 500 million to support exports. Also, the opening of the Kingdom's consulate in Baghdad to be followed by three other consulates in three cities in the future confirms the Kingdom's full readiness to support Iraq in order to develop its infrastructure and development projects, emphasizes the importance of strengthening relations and joint cooperation between the two sides in important international and regional affairs, protects joint interests, and develops economic and investment relations in the two countries.
The Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet welcomed the United States of America's decision on the classification of Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, considering it as a practical and serious step in the efforts to combat terrorism, and it translates the Kingdom's repeated demands of the international community for the necessity to address terrorism backed by Iran, and the necessity that the international community must take a firm stance to address the role being played by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in undermining the international peace and security.
The Cabinet pointed to the Kingdom's continuous support for the Palestinian cause at all political, economic and humanitarian levels, including the Kingdom's monthly contribution by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) to support the Palestinian Authority's budget for the months of February and March 2019, amounting to $ 40 million.
The Cabinet also reiterated the assurance made by the Ministry of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources on the Kingdom's commitment to its role as a stabilizing force of global energy markets.
The minister said that the Cabinet confirmed that the ongoing attempts by the terrorist Iranian-backed Houthi militias targeting civilians and civilian installations, through terrorist and hostile acts being launched from the province of Hodeidah, Yemen, at a time when the coalition is committed to cease-fire in Hodeidah as defined in Stockholm Arrangement, no doubt, undeline that their act represents a provocative attempt to drag the coalition forces carry out military operations in Hodeidah.
The Kingdom reaffirms its commitment to support the political efforts led by the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Yemen and the Chairman of the Re-deployment Coordination Committee, to successfully implement the Stockholm Arrangement.
The Cabinet was briefed on the contents of the 44th annual meeting of the Islamic Development Bank Group in the Moroccan city of Marrakesh, commending the support the IDB receives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, through initiatives led by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, aiming to enhance the role of entrepreneurship and innovation through MISK Foundation, as well as the support announced by the Kingdom at the former Arab Summit in Dhahran to allocate $ 150 million for the Islamic endowments in Al-Quds and assigning the IDB to manage it.
The Cabinet praised the efforts of the State Security, represented by the State Security Presidency, in coordination with the security forces in the Eastern Region culminated by a preemptive operation to thwart a terrorist act in the province of Qatif in the Eastern Region, resulting in the killing of two wanted and the arrest of two others, a move that reflects the keenness, vigilance and efficiency of the security forces and their ability to thwart any terrorist attempt before it occurs.
The Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First:
The Cabinet approved two agreements between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the governments of each of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the United Republic of Comoros, in the field of air transport services.
Second:
The Cabinet approved the Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Zambia.
Third:
The Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Saudi Arabian General Financial Investigation Unit (SAFIU), an affiliate of the State Security Presidency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Korean Financial Investigation Unit (KOFIU) of the Republic of Korea on cooperation in the field of exchange of information on money laundering, terrorism financing and related crimes.
Fourth:
The Cabinet approved the organizational arrangements for the National Transformation Program Center.
Fifth:
The Cabinet ordered the deletion of the phrase: "a period not exceeding two weeks" from paragraph (1) of article 20 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Sixth:
The Cabinet approved the regulation of maintaining public decency.
Seventh:
The Cabinet ordered adding a representative of the Ministry of Culture to the membership of the National Committee for Geographical Names .
Eighth:
The Cabinet approved the following appointment and promotions on the 14th rank:
1- Ali bin Saeed bin Ali Al-Qahtani was appointed as security adviser at the Ministry of Interior (14th rank).
2- Abdullah bin Menahi bin Jubah Al-Otaibi was promoted to the post of Director General of Investments Development at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs (14th rank).
3- Saeed bin Yahya bin Attiyah Al-Zahrani to the post of Director General of Riyadh Branch of the General Presidency of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (14th rank).
The Cabinet was briefed on a number of general issues on its agenda, including annual reports of each of the General Presidency of Religious Research and Ifta; Authority of Organizing Electricity and Dual Production; the Ports Authority; the General Presidency for the Holy Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque; the General Presidency of the Commission of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; and the Capital Market Authority, for two previous financial years. The Cabinet took notice and issued relevant recommendations towards them.