Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz on Monday chaired the Cabinet’s weekly meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.
The Cabinet discussed consultations following postponement of the Arab Summit in Tunisia to reconvene the Summit as soon as possible.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, Minister of Culture and Information Dr Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy said that the Cabinet was briefed on talks held by Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, with Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh. The Cabinet stressed the keenness of both sides to promote a constructive climate for reconvention of the Summit meeting as soon as possible.
The Cabinet was briefed on talks held by the Crown Prince with Moroccan King Mohammed VI, which focused on recent developments in Arab and international arenas, the required steps to facilitate convention of the Arab Summit meeting at the earliest opportunity, and the means of enhancing cooperation between the two countries.
The Cabinet was briefed on the visit to Austria and talks held by Crown Prince Abdullah with Austrian President Dr Thomas Klestil, which resulted in the signing of an agreement on cooperation in economic, commercial, industrial and technological fields. The Cabinet praised the firm relations between the two countries and their keenness to boost solidarity and cooperation in all fields.
The Cabinet lauded the endeavours of Austria, alongside the European Union, to advance the peace process in the Middle East, and praised expressed appreciation of their acknowledgement of the Kingdom’s significant role in advancing proposals for a peace settlement in the Middle East.
The Minister of Culture and Information said that the Council then reviewed domestic items on its agenda and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet approved regulations of the Consultative Panel for Marine Scientific Research. The panel is assigned to consider applications submitted by non-governmental Saudi bodies and individuals planning to conduct scientific research in maritime regions of the Kingdom, supervise plans related to scientific and technological activities conducted in maritime regions, and draft plans for marine scientific research and the follow-up implementation of the plans.
The Cabinet approved a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of judicial relations between the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Judiciary of Iran, which was initially signed in Saudi Arabia on 11 July 2003.
The Council of Ministers authorized the Minister of Higher Education or his deputy to sign the memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Higher Education Panel of the Philippines and to forward the final version of the memorandum for further approval.
The Cabinet approved the amendment of article 15 of the Commercial and Economic Agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Lebanon, according to royal decree M/58 dated 19/12/1391H, to read as follows: “This agreement is valid for two years and is renewable automatically for similar periods unless one of the two contracting parties notifies the other in writing at least three months prior to the expiry date of its plan to terminate the agreement.”
The Cabinet approved the appointment of Prince Bandar bin Mashari bin Saud bin Farhan Al-Saud as Administrative Advisor at the Ministry of Defence and Aviation; Ali bin Mohammed Al-Ghulaiqa as Advisor at the Ministry of Defence and Aviation; Eng. Abdul Aziz bin Ali bin Abdul Aziz Al-Abdulkareem as Undersecretary of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs for Technical Affairs; and Mohammed bin Saad Al-Madhi at 15th rank at the Interior Ministry.
Source: SPA
