Jeddah, SPA :

Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the meeting of the Cabinet held at Al-Salam Palace here yesterday.

At the outset of the session, the Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques welcomed, on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the pilgrims of the House of Allah, who began to come to the Kingdom to perform the fifth pillar of Islam, asking God to guide the pilgrims in performance of the rituals of Hajj, as ordered by God the Almighty and to grant them acceptance, redeem their sins, to be as if they were on the day of their birth and that may God grant them a blessed Hajj, which has no reward except Paradise, as told by Al-Mustafa, the Prophet, peace and benediction, be upon him.

The Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques instructed all governmental and private bodies to do everything that would help the guests of the Rahman perform Hajj, with all the tranquility, security and safety in order to achieve the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and in accordance with the Kingdom s great responsibility for this great message, adding that it is an honor to serve the two Holy Mosques, in Makkah, Madinah, other holy places and provide guidance to the guests of Allah, who come from all countries of the world, in compliance with the Almighty s words.

Then, the Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the results of the audience the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud held in his Moroccan guest residence for the President of the Republic of Sudan Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

He also briefed the Cabinet on the results of his meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, President of the Republic of Guinea Alpha Conde, the Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulqader Messahel, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and the Foreign Minister of Japan Taro Kono.

Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad, Minister of Culture and Information, explained, in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on the latest developments, confirming that the Iranian authorities continuing procrastination and rejection of proceeding with investigations into the incident of storming the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate general in Mash-had and pursuing illusive ways, reflects the behavior and method of the Iranian government, its disregard of the international conventions, charters and laws, and violation of the sanctity of diplomatic missions, a behavior the Iranian government was accustomed to for nearly four decades. The Cabinet stressed the Kingdom's firm position towards the Syrian crisis, summarized in a solution based on Geneva I declaration principles, the UN Security Council resolution No. 2254, which states the formation of a transitional authority to be in charge of administering the day-to-day affairs, drafting a new constitution of Syria, preparing the country for elections, and drafting a new future for Syria in which Bashar Al-Assad will have nor role. He confirmed the support of the Kingdom for a higher coordinating authority for negotiations as well as the measures in which that authority would consider expanding the participation of members of the process and unifying the opposition ranks.

The Cabinet also expressed strong denunciation and condemnation of the terrorist attack which targeted the Iraqi embassy downtown the Afghani capital of Kabul, and the suicide attack which took place in Bakrabad, west of Afghanistan, reiterating the solidarity of the Kingdom and its support by the side of both the Republic of Iraq and the Republic of Afghanistan in their efforts to fight terror and extremism in all kinds and forms. On the domestic side, the minister explained that the Cabinet lauded the declaration by the Vice Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Investment Fund, launching the Red Sea international touristy project in cooperation with an international hospitality and hostelry conglomerate aiming to develop extraordinary touristy resorts, covering more than 50 natural sea islands falling between the cities of Amlaj and Al-Wajh on the Red Sea, noting that the project is expected to establish a pioneering touristy destination through creating a qualitative leap of the concept of tourism and hostelry sectors as tourism is considered one of the most important economic sectors of the Kingdom vision 2030.

Dr. Awad bin Saleh Al-Awad said that the Cabinet reviewed the topics listed on the agenda of its session, including some co-reviewed by the Shoura Council. The cabinet concluded the following:

First: The Cabinet approved the Extradition Agreement on the transfering of persons sentenced to deprivation of liberty between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Kazakhstan, signed in Riyadh on 24/1 / 1438 H.

Second: The the Cabinet approved a memorandum of cooperation in the field of social development between the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation, signed in Tokyo on 15/6/1438 H.

Third: The Cabinet approved a labor cooperation agreement in field of workers employment in the general category between the Ministry of Labor and Social Development in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of India, signed in Riyadh on 25/6/1437 H.

Fourth: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of National Development in Hungary for cooperation in the field of communications and information technology, signed on 15/5/1437 H.

Fifth: The cabinet approved the organization of the Fund of Charity (Alsadqa). The most prominent features of the regulation include: 1. The fund shall be linked to the Minister of Justice and have a legal personality and an independent budget and shall be based in the Ministry of Justice. 2. The Fund shall carry out a number of tasks, including disbursement of expenses to those who previously won a sentence by a court to be entitled to them but has not been implemented for any reason other than the insolvency and disbursement of expenses to a person who has a judicial order but continues to be brought before the court, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by regulations. 3. The fund shall have a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister of Justice and the membership of representatives of the Ministries of Justice, Finance, Labor and Social Development and three members of the private sector who have an interest in the work of the fund nominated by the chairman of the board and appointed by a decision of the cabinet.

Sixth: The cabinet decided the following: 1 - Appointing the following as members of the board of directors of the General Organization for Social Insurance for a period of three years: Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Skeit as a representing the Council of Economic and Development Affairs Abdurrahman bin Abdullah Al-Aiban as representative of the Ministry of Health Hazal bin Ali Al Fayezi as a representative of the Ministry of Finance Khalid bin Fahd Al-Baez as a representative of employers Abdullah bin Abdullatif Al-Fawzan as a representative of employers Mohammed Saeed bin Ibrahim Shams as a representative of employers Salman bin Faris Al-Faris as a representative of the participants Tala'at bin Zaki Hafez as a representative of the participants 2- Renewal of the membership of Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Humaidan, representing the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, and Huda bint Mohammed bin Ghosn, representing the participants, as members of the board of directors of the General Organization for Social Insurance for three years.

Seventh: The Cabinet decided: 1. The General Investment Authority shall take the necessary steps to authorize foreign companies engaged in the field of engineering services and associated consultancy to invest in the Kingdom with a 100% ownership rate after fulfilling the following two conditions: (A) The company shall not be less than ten years old from the date of its establishment in its country. (B) The company or one of its subsidiaries operating in the same field is present in at least four countries. 2- The board of directors of the General Authority for Investment - in cases they determine - can exempt from one of the two conditions above, in accordance with general criteria put by them that shall be clear, declared publicly, and non-discriminatory in order to achieve better interests for the kingdom.

Eighth: The Council of Ministers decided to approve the Capital Market Authority's accession to the Islamic Financial Services Council as a full member in accordance with its rules.

Ninth: The Council of Ministers approved promotions at the 15th and 14th grades, and the positions of Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary The Cabinet reviewed the draft strategy for activating non-profit sector organizations (Tamkeen) and directed those departments whose technical supervision cover the associations and institutions of the non-profit sector to establish a special unit for NGOs to facilitate and accelerate the establishment of non-profit associations and institutions within the scope of its supervision and take the necessary legal measures to facilitate their establishment. The Council also reviewed the annual report of the Economic Cities Authority for a previous financial year and reviewed a number of topics on its agenda; the council took note of them and took appropriate decisions.