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 talks with Prime Minister Edi Rama of the Republic of Albania, during which they discussed ways of developing and enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries, signing a memorandum of understanding and two agreements between the two governments of the two countries, and latest developments in the region.
The Cabinet expressed its thanks and appreciation to the King and HRH Crown Prince for their concern and care for Makkah, Madinah and holy sites. It stressed that the visit of HRH Crown Prince and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Royal Commission for Makkah and Holy Sites to the Grand Holy Mosque yesterday to be briefed on the third Saudi expansion project of the Mosque, and presiding over the Board's second meeting embody this concern and care in order to provide best services to the guests of Allah (pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors).
The Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet appreciated His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense's inauguration of King Abdullah Port and his patronage of its official opening ceremony during his visit to King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh, as the first port in the Kingdom and the region being developed, managed and operated by the private sector. The Cabinet also appreciated HRH Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Royal Commission for the Governorate of Al-Ula's patronage of the inauguration ceremony of Al-Ula Vision to announce its plan aiming to turn it into a global destination for heritage, while preserving the natural and cultural heritage in the region, and his launch of Natural Reserve Sharaan in Al-Ula Governorate to restore the natural balance in the region.
The Cabinet also hailed the successful launch of the first Saudi Geostationary Satellite (SGS-1), which is the first satellite of its kind to be owned by the Kingdom, from the French Guiana Space Centre. The satellite is operated and controlled from ground stations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and aims to provide high-speed satellite communications as a national strategy plan to meet the needs of the Kingdom, and provide telecommunication services with advanced specifications for the use of government sectors, and with commercial specifications for the rest of the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and large parts of Africa and Central Asia.
The Cabinet thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince for this national achievement, which is the result of their great support to achieve the Kingdom vision 2030 which aims to localize the strategic technologies in the Kingdom, to increase local content and to empower the Saudi young people to work with advanced state-of-the-art technologies in the field of satellite development and manufacturing.
The Minister of Media added that the Cabinet was also briefed on a number of reports on the latest developments in the region and the world, including the outcomes of the Ministerial Meeting of the Member States of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which is concluded in Washington. The Cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's consistent and continuous commitment to the objectives of this coalition in order to achieve cooperation and coordination among all Member States to combat terrorism and extremism.
At a conclusion of the session, Turki Al-Shabanah said that the Cabinet issued the following resolutions:
First:
The Cabinet authorized HRH the Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense, Chairman of the Saudi side of the Saudi-Indian Supreme Coordination Council, to sign an agreement to establish Saudi-Indian Supreme Coordination Council and approve the organizational structure of the council and its proposed governance.
Second:
The Cabinet authorized His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and the Head of the Saudi side of the Saudi-Chinese High Joint Committee to discuss with the Chinese side, signing of a protocol to amend article 2, paragraph 2 of the item 1 of an agreement to form a joint high level committee between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the People's Republic of China, and submit the amendments to complete formal procedures.
Third:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Health or his deputy to discuss with the Korean side a draft of memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of the Republic of Korea for cooperation, in the field of health insurance, and sign the final version to complete formal procedures.
Fourthly:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Commerce and Investment or his deputy to discuss with the Chinese side a draft memorandum of understanding to form a working team between the Ministry of Commerce and Investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China, to promote unhindered trade, and to submit the final signed version, to complete formal procedures.
Fifth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources or his deputy to complete discussions with the Pakistani side on a memorandums of understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, in the fields of developing renewable energy projects and studying investment opportunities, in the refining, petrochemical sectors and the mineral sector, and to sign them.
Sixth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Communications and Information Technology or his deputy to discuss with the Indonesian side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in the Republic of Indonesia, in the field of communications and information technology, sign it and to submit the final version to complete formal procedures.
Seventh:
The Cabinet authorized the Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency or his deputy to discuss with the Korean side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, in Saudi Arabia, the Financial Services Authority and the Financial Supervision Authority of the Republic of Korea, for joint cooperation, in the supervision of financial institutions, sign it and submit the final signed version to complete formal procedures.
Eighth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Media and the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Saudi Radio and Television Corporation or his deputy to discuss with the Indian side a memorandum of understanding for cooperation, in the field of radio and television between the Radio and Television Corporation of Saudi Arabia and the Indian Broadcasting Corporation, and submit the final signed version to complete formal procedures.
Ninth:
The Cabinet approved signing of King Saud University of a draft agreement for provision of Chinese language teachers between King Saud University, in Saudi Arabia, and the main Center of Confucius Institute, in the People's Republic of China.
Tenth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Commerce and Investment and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Investment Authority or his deputy to discuss with the Indian side a draft agreement of Encouragement and Mutual Protection of Investments between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of India.
Eleventh:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Commerce and Investment and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property or his deputy to discuss and sign with the Chinese side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of intellectual property between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) of the People's Republic of China.
Twelfth:
The Cabinet authorized the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of his deputy to discuss and sign with the Indian side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism between the National Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Tourism of the Republic of India.
Thirteenth:
The Cabinet authorized the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of his deputy to discuss and sign with the Pakistani side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of archaeology and museums between the National Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Department of Archaeology and Museums of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Fourteenth:
The Cabinet approved that the Kingdom joins the mechanism of cooperation among the tax administrations in the Belt and Road Initiative as an observer and the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority of Zakat and Tax, or his deputy, shall take the necessary action regarding the accession.
Fifteenth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources or his deputy to discuss with the Indian side a draft of memorandum of understanding, in the field of investment with the Indian National Investment and Infrastructure Fund between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of India, sign it and submit the final signed version to complete formal procedures.
Sixteenth:
The Cabinet appointed Eng. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Abdulkarim (Deputy Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources for Industry Affairs) as a member of board of the Saudi Industrial Development Fund.
Seventeenth:
The Cabinet approved promotion to the post of ambassador and to ranks 15 and 14, as follows:
1- Adel bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulghaffar Baksh to the post of ambassador, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2- Eng. Ibrahim bin Saleh bin Ali Al-Zamil to the post of Director of Significant Projects and Planning, 15 rank, a the Mayoralty of Riyadh Region.
3- Saud bin Abdullah bin Ahmed Al-Ebaissi to the post of Undersecretary for Services, 15 rank, at the Mayoralty of Riyadh Region.
4- Mohammed bin Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Shathri to the post of Director of a Committee Workings, 15 rank, at the Secretariat of the Cabinet.
5- Makhdour bin Khider bin Mohammed Al-Sahafi to the post of Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs, rank 14, at the Mayoralty of Jeddah Governorate.
6- Mohammed bin Missfir bin Mohammed Al-Dahassi to the post of Director General of the Minister's Office, at 14 rank, at the Ministry of Economy and Planning.
The Cabinet was briefed on a number of general issues on its agenda. Following taking notice of them, the Cabinet issued relevant instructions