The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz chaired the Cabinet’s weekly session at Al-Yamamah Palace here today.
At the outset of the session, King Fahd renewed the Kingdom’s commitment to pursue peaceful means to resolving the crisis in Iraq.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Information, Dr Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy, said that the Kingdom emphasized the necessity of protecting innocent Iraqi civilians, and the city’s historical and civilizational heritage, which has an important place in Arab and Islamic history.
The Kingdom stressed the responsibility of the international community to exert the utmost efforts to safeguard the future prospects of Iraq and the Iraqi citizens, and reiterated the Kingdom’s readiness to serve all endeavours to end the tragedy and alleviate the suffering of the people of Iraq.
The Cabinet renewed its plea that the Iraq war does not distract attention from the United Nations’ responsibility to implement its resolutions of international legitimacy to protect the Palestinian people from continual Israeli aggression in the occupied territories.
The Cabinet then reviewed a number of domestic matters on the agenda, and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet authorized the Interior Minister or his deputy to discuss with the Mexican side a draft agreement for security cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of Mexico.
The meeting authorized the Foreign Minister or his deputy to discuss with the Cuban side a draft agreement for cooperation between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Cuba.
The Cabinet endorsed the bill submitted by the Shoura Council on the Dispossession of Real Estate Ownership for Public Interest. The new Act designates the compensation to be paid to former owners of expropriated real estate. The ownership of such property could be transferred to public utilities’ projects, including electricity companies, water networks, telephone, gas, sewage discharge, and railway and public road works. The new Act becomes effective 180 days subsequent to its publication in the official Gazette.
The Cabinet endorsed the final accounts of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) and its financial, administrative and operational performance, mineral activities and exploration projects.
Source: SPA
