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 Monday afternoon.
At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on his talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Republic of Turkey and his meeting with Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Premier of the Kingdom of Bahrain during which they reviewed close bilateral ties between the Kingdom and the two countries.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also briefed the Cabinet on his two telephone calls made to President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo on his election as President of the Federal Republic of Somalia and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on his election as President of the Republic of Germany during which the King congratulated both presidents and confirmed the strength of relations between the Kingdom and the two countries and the keenness on enhancing them in all fields, in addition to his meeting with Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and President of World Bank Group Dr. Jim Yong Kim.
The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) after the session that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on various international efforts on latest developments in the region and the world, and the challenges facing the international community to maintain security and stability, praising in this context the convening of Munich Security Conference and the meeting of Foreign Ministers of countries of Group of twenty (G20) in the cities of Munich and Bonn, Germany, and the ongoing efforts for the resumption of political negotiations on the Syrian crisis based on the declaration of Geneva (1) and United Nations Security Council resolution No. 2254.
The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist bombing that took place in Sitra Island, Kingdom of Bahrain, the attack that targeted a market in the east of the Somali capital Mogadishu, and the blast that ripped the Pakistani city of Lahore, reiterating the solidarity of the Kingdom and its firm stance with the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Somalia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in countering acts of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, offering condolences to the families of the victims and wishing the injured a quick recovery.
The minister said that the Cabinet lauded the continuing monitoring by security agencies against the activities of the deviant group and foiling their terrorist plots aimed to violate the security of the Kingdom and its stability, pointing out that such successful efforts exerted by security agencies in pre-emptive operations enabling them to foil four terrorist cluster cells in each of Makkah region, Medina, Qassim and Riyadh whereas their members were playing various roles, have confirmed the determination to strongly deter these terrorist activities, their formations, defending of homeland, its citizens and residents and bringing the perpetrators to justice to receive fair punishment.
Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said that the Cabinet was briefed on the topics listed on its agenda, some were studied by the Shura Council. The Council has concluded the following:

First:
The Cabinet authorized the Crown Prince, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the National General Safety Authority of Japan on cooperation in the security and anti-crime fields, sign it and forward the final version for final legal procedure.

Second:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of economy and planning, the minister of commerce and investment and the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources to discuss with the Japanese side a draft memorandum of cooperation between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Japan on the implementation of the Saudi-Japanese vision 2030 and sign it.

Third:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of labor and social development, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a draft memorandum of cooperation in the field of labor and social development between the ministry of labor and social development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of health, labor and welfare of Japan, sign it and forward the final version for legal procedure.

Fourth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of commerce and investment, or his deputy, to discuss a draft cooperation program in the commercial field between the ministry of commerce and investment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each of the Republic of Indonesia, the Republic of The Maldives, the Peoples Republic of China and Japan, and sign them.

Fifth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of commerce and investment, or his deputy, to discuss with the Malaysian side a draft memorandum of understanding between the government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Malaysia in the commercial and investment field, sign it and forward the final version for legal procedure.

Sixth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of energy, industry and mineral resources, or his deputy, to discuss with the Malaysian side a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the industrial field between the ministry of energy, industry and mineral resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of international trade and industry of Malaysia, sign it and forward the final version for legal procedure.

Seventh:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of labor and social development, or his deputy, to discuss with the Malaysian side a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the fields of labor and human resources between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Malaysia, sign it and forward the final version for legal procedure.

Eighth:
The Cabinet authorized the minister of environment, water and agriculture, or his deputy, to discuss with the Indonesian side a draft memorandum of understanding between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Indonesia, on cooperation in the field of sea fishing and fish wealth, sign it and forward the final version for legal procedure.

Ninth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Commerce and Investment, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Indonesian side a cooperation program in the field of developing small and medium enterprises between the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises of the Republic of Indonesia.

Tenth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Labor and Social Development, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Chinese side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the fields of labor between the Ministry of Labor and Social Development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of the People's Republic of China.

Eleventh:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Transport, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Greek side a draft cooperation agreement in the field of maritime transport between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Greece.

Twelvth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Education, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Indonesian and Chinese sides a scientific and educational cooperation program between the Ministry of Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Indonesia and the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China.

Thirteen:
The Cabinet authorized the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technolog, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Greek side a draft memorandum of understanding for scientific and technical cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Greece.

Fourteenth:
The Cabinet authorized the President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Greek side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of satellites and their applications between the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Digital Policy, Media and Telecommunications of the Republic of Greece.

Fifteenth:
The Cabinet approved the implementation of two resolutions issued by the GCC Supreme Council during its 37th session which was held in Bahrain on 7-8/03/1438H, regarding the following:
1- GCC embassies and consulates as well as relevant authorities shall be committed to ensuring the health of foreign workers through the shared electronic link system.
2- Imposition of selective tax by GCC countries as set for in the resolution, authorizing the Minister of Finance to define a date for implementing the selective tax for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Sixteenth:
The Cabinet approved the addition of a representative of Jobs Creation and Anti-Unemployment Authority to the membership of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Small and Medium Enterprises.

Seventeenth:
The Cabinet amended articles 6,7,14, 18, 29, and 35 of the civil service system.

Eighteenth:
The Cabinet approved the promotion of the following government senior officials:
1- Abdulrahman bin Ali bin Abdulrahman Al-Odan to the post of security consultant at the interior ministry (15th rank)
2- Abdulmajeed bin Abdulrahman bin Suleiman Al-Shmaisi to the post of security consultant at the interior ministry (15th rank)
3- Eng. Mohammed bin Bati bin Salim Al-Kalbi to the post of Computer Consultant Engineer at the interior ministry (14th rank)
4- Saad bin Saleh bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi to the post of secretary general of the national committee for combating drugs at the interior ministry (14th rank)
5- Abdulmonem bin Yassin bin Awadh Al-Shihri to the post of director general of civil status of Makkah region at the interior ministry (14th rank)
6- Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Ali Al-Salamah to the post of head of public notary office at the justice ministry (14th rank)
7- Adel bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman bin Yousef to the post of assistant undersecretary for jobs and salaries classification at the civil service ministry (14th rank)
8- Khalid bin Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Grooni to the post of director general of the president's office at the general presidency of the commission for promotion of virtue and prevention of vice (14th rank)

The Cabinet was briefed on the general issues on its agenda, including an annual report of the Saudi Arabian airlines, and the General Foundation for King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center on a previous fiscal year. The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcome of the 15th joint ministerial meeting of the GCC-Turkish strategic dialogue at the foreign ministers level, and the outcome of the commerce ministers of the G20 which was held in China.
The Cabinet took the relevant instructions towards them.