Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz today chaired the Cabinet’s weekly session at Al-Salam Palace.
At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on consultations held last week with leaders and officials of a number of countries on recent regional and international developments.
King Fahd said he appreciates the support expressed by leaders of tribes and sheikhs to Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, noting that this support is common among Saudi citizens.
The King briefed the Cabinet on talks held with Syrian President Bashar Al-Asad on bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East, and developments in the Palestinian arena.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information, Dr Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy, said that the King stressed the Kingdom’s endeavours to use its influence in Islamic and international arenas to strengthen security and stability, and strongly to support efforts to achieve peace in the region and the world.
The King spoke about the role of the Higher Education Council, and the keenness of the government to provide Saudi youth with opportunities to pursue further studies at the Kingdom’s Universities. He approved the opening of three universities in the forthcoming academic year in Madinah, Qasim and Taif. The new universities will focus on scientific and technological specializations to meet the developmental needs and labour market in the Kingdom. He noted the Crown Prince’s inauguration of the College of Technology in Taif and similar colleges in Al-Qunfuzah, Hafr Al-Baten, and Al-Dawadmi.
The Cabinet expressed its satisfaction over the positive and encouraging results of the meeting held between the delegation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the European High Commission on a number of matters regarding the Kingdom’s accession to the World Trade Organization.
The Council of Ministers then continued discussions of items on its agenda, and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet approved a draft agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Administration on developing commercial and investment relations between the two countries. The Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy is
authorized to sign the agreement and forward its final version to the Cabinet.
The Cabinet approved a draft agreement on cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Popular Democratic Republic of Algeria in the field of Islamic affairs and endowments, which was signed on 1 January 2003. A Royal Decree has been drafted in this regard.
A member of King Abdul Aziz City for Sciences and Technology and the Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology were appointed to the Board of Directors of the Saudi Commission for Industrial Cities, the Cabinet decided.
The Cabinet approved the appointments of Eng. Yahya bin Jameel bin Mohammed Hasan Shinawi as Director General of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Eastern Region branch; Dr Abdul Aziz bin Salim Al-Harthi as Undersecretary for Educational Affairs at the Girls’ Education Department; Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Muneer Aseeri as Assistant
Undersecretary of the Governorate of Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, and Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Rimaih as Assistant Secretary General of the General Investment Fund at the Ministry of Finance.
Source: SPA
