Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz today chaired the Cabinet’s weekly meeting at Al-Salam Palace.
At the outset of the session, the Cabinet welcomed the King’s approval, announced on Sunday by the Crown Prince, to establish the King Abdul Aziz Centre for National Dialogue, which will foster responsible expression of opinion, and considered views and new ides among the Kingdom’s Ulema (religious scholars), intellectuals, and educated citizens, based on firm adherence to the Islamic religion and national unity.
King Fahd expressed his great appreciation for efforts exerted by security officials and citizens in the fight to combat terrorism and eradicate its roots, to strengthen the nation’s stability.
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 reaffirmed the importance of the role of Ulema, sheikhs, intellectuals, the educated and influential, families and the society as a whole, in enlightening youth about Islam’s moderation and its tolerant teachings. He said that the nation must reject extremism, deviant ideas, and false interpretations, which belie the true Islam.
The King pointed out that the objectives of the deviant group are far removed from true religious values, and are aimed at spreading dissolution and degeneration on earth and killing innocent civilians. He said that the deviant group adopts destructive ideas to corrupt youths, who are ignorant of their grave mistakes and crimes.
The Minister of Culture and Information added that the Cabinet was briefed on recent developments in regional and international arenas, and the Kingdom’s stance on the various issues concerned.
The Cabinet renewed the Kingdom’s inalienable support of the fight to combat terrorism and reiterated its commitment to offer continued cooperation with the world community to overcome this plight.
On the Palestinian issue, the Cabinet noted that the security wall that Israel is currently constructing in the West Bank is not conducive to implementation of the ‘Road Map’ to peace.
Regarding the Iraqi issue, the Cabinet welcomed Arab dialogue to discuss the situation.
The Council of Ministers then reviewed items on its agenda, and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet approved granting officers of the emergency forces a monthly security premium worth 25% of their basic salary.
The Council of Ministers approved measures regarding implementation of the agreement to ban the introduction, production, storage and use of chemical weapons, and reiterated the necessity of destroying these weapons.
The Cabinet approved the appointment of Engineer Abdulrahman bin Fahd Al-Waheeb as member of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Electricity Company, to replace Dr Shadad bin Ibrahim Al-Husseini, for the remaining term of the Board, and Qassim bin Ali bin Mansour Shamakhi as Director General of Girls’ Education in the Eastern Region at the Ministry of Education.
Source: SPA
