Jeddah, SPA:
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Tuesday afternoon.
At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on the results of his meeting with United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, during which they reviewed strategic relations between the two friendly countries, latest developments at regional and international arenas and efforts being exerted towards them.
The Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on developments in the region and the world. The Cabinet welcomed in this context the statement of the Quartet including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, and its concern about escalating tension in the region, the threat being posed by the Iranian activity destabilizing peace and security in Yemen and the region as a whole and the tension represented by Houthi militia attacks on the Kingdom by using missiles and Iranian-made and equipped drones.
The Cabinet stressed that the continuation of Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia of hostile actions and terrorist operations by firing ballistic missiles and drones to target civilians and civilian objects in the Kingdom, violating the international humanitarian law by taking civilian populations in residential areas as human shields, and launching by remote control booby-trapped boats, represents a war crime and a real threat to regional and international security. The Cabinet affirmed the legitimate right of the Command of Forces of the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen to take and implement necessary measures to deal with these hostile and terrorist actions and immoral transgressions and in accordance with the rules of the international humanitarian law. The Cabinet expressed its condolences to the family of the Syrian resident martyred in the terrorist attack that targeted Abha international airport and led to the injury of 21 civilians of different nationalities, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
The Cabinet commended the final statement of the emergency meeting of Arab finance ministers and its commitment to the decisions of the League of Arab States to activate a financial safety network to support the budget of the Palestinian Authority with $ 100 million per month according to Member States' quotas in the budget of the General Secretariat, and its condemnation of Israeli piracy of the Palestinian people's money. The Cabinet also expressed the Kingdom's appreciation of the meeting praising of the Kingdom's commitment and support for the Palestinian cause and the Palestinian Authority.
The Minister said that the Cabinet expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist bombing in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, expressing its sincere condolences to the families of the victims and the government and people of Iraq, wishing the injured a speedy recovery. The Cabinet renewed the Kingdom's stand with the Republic of Iraq against terrorism and extremism.
The Cabinet stressed that the selection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the first Arab country to be a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) during the general meeting of the task force in the United States of America was the result of the Kingdom's efforts in combating money laundering and financing of terrorism and its sources. The selection also came as a result of the Kingdom's great and effective financial procedures for a stable, transparent and reliable financial environment.
The Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Interior, or his deputy, to discuss with the Albanian side a draft cooperation agreement on the use and replacement of driving licenses between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Albania, sign it and submit the final version to complete formal procedures.
Second:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of National Guard, or his deputy, to discuss with the Korean side two drafts of memorandums of understanding between the Ministry of National Guard in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Seoul National University, Korean National Clinical Trials Foundation, and Seoul National University Hospital, sign them and submit the final versions to complete formal procedures.
Third:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Culture, or his deputy, to discuss with the Korean side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation the field of culture between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Korea, sign it and submit the final version to complete formal procedures.
Fourth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Culture, or his deputy, to discuss with the Japanese side a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the cultural field between the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan, sign it and then forward the final version to complete formal procedures.
Fifth:
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Government of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the United Arab Emirates in the field of higher education.
Sixth:
The Cabinet authorized the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Education and Training Assessment Board, or his deputy, to discuss with the European Quality Assurance Agency a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Education and Training Assessment Authority and the European Quality Assurance Agency in the field of quality and academic accreditation, sign it and then forward the final version to complete formal procedures.
Seventh:
The Cabinet authorized the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Entertainment (GAE), or his deputy, to discuss the following :
1 - A memorandum of cooperation in the field of entertainment between the General Authority for Entertainment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
2- A memorandum of cooperation in the field of entertainment between the General Authority for Entertainment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Department of Culture and Tourism od Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
3- A memorandum of cooperation in the field of entertainment between the General Authority for Entertainment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad's Cultural Center of Kuwait.
4- A memorandum of cooperation in the field of entertainment between the General Authority for Entertainment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Culture and Tourism Authority of the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The chairman of GAE is also authorized to sign the above-mentioned memos and then forward the final versions to complete formal procedures.
Eighth:
The Cabinet directed the amendment of the regulation of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and the Research Center, as explained, in the details of the decision.
Ninth:
The Cabinet decided to transfer the National Accreditation Committee to an independent center holding the name: "the Saudi Accreditation Center" and approving its regulation.
Tenth:
The Cabinet ordered the formation of the board of the Saudi Railways Organization, under the chairmanship of the minister of transport and the membership of the following:
1- Dr. Rumaih bin Mohammed Al-Rumaih.
2- Dr. Abdullah bin Hassan Al-Abdulqadir.
3- Yasser bin Abdullah Al-Salman.
4- Terry Lee Schindlger.
5- Eng. Faydahr Katchrow.
Eleventh:
The Cabinet directed to amendment of the regulation of the National Center for Strategic Development Studies as per the new decision.
Twelfth:
The Cabinet approved promotion to the 15th and 14th ranks and to a post of ambassador, as follows:
- Riyadh bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Khanini, to the post of ambassador, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Abdulaziz bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabdi, to the post of ambassador, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Saeid bin Mohammed bin Saeid Al-Ghamdi, to the post of Director General of the Administrative and Financial Affairs, rank 15, at the Ministry of Education.
- Abdulrahman bin Abdullah bin Ali Al Missfer, to the post of Assistant Deputy President for Branches' Affairs, rank 15, at the General Auditing Bureau.
- Khalid bin Fahd bin Fahd Al-Shibrimi, to the post of the Director General of the General Auditing Bureau Branch, rank 15, in the Eastern Region.
- Yusuf bin Abdulhadi bin Abdulwahab Al-Mansouri, to the post of Director General of the Control and Investigation Board Branch, rank 15, in Makkah Region.
- Mohammed bin Hamid bin Mohammed Al-Khaibari, to the post of Director General of the Reports' Office, rank 14, at the General Auditing Bureau.
- Faisal bin Ahmed bin Maeidh Al-Malki, to the post of the Director General for Auditing Military Sector's Accounts, rank 14, at the General Auditing Bureau.
- Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Ibrahim bin Dayel, to the post of Assistant to the Director General of Control of Ministries and Departments' Performance, rank 14, at the General Auditing Bureau.
- Abdulrahman bin Yahiya bin Abdulrahman Abu Wakdah, to the post of Assistant to the Director General of the Eastern Region Bureau, rank 14, at the General Auditing Bureau.
- Abdulmohsen bin Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Kathairi, to the post of Director General of the President of the Board office, rank 14, at the Control and Investigation Board.
- Hussein bin Mohammed bin Abu Bakr Bashuwayeh, Assistant Director General of the Board Branch of Makkah Region, rank 14, at the General Auditing Bureau.
The cabinet reviewed a host of issues on its agenda, too. Being informed of them, it took appropriate recommendations, in their regard.