Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, on Monday presided over the meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.
At the outset of the meeting, Crown Prince Abdullah expressed his sincere congratulations to the peoples of Saudi Arabia and Arab and Islamic nations on the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan, and prayed to Almighty God to help all Muslims to fast for the Holy Month and to accept from them their good deeds and worship.
The Crown Prince said that throughout history the blessed month of Ramadan has fostered solidarity, cooperation and unity of the Islamic nation. He expressed his hope that Islamic countries and peoples would take the opportunity of the advent of Ramadan to work towards resolving disputes and to promote the good of the Islamic nation, enhancing its ability to confront the difficulties and challenges it faces.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, the Minister of Culture and Information, Dr Fouad Al-Farsy, said that the Council reviewed topics on its agenda and took the following decisions:
After reviewing the request of the Interior Minister and Chairman of the Civil Defence for the Council to grant him power to authorize the General Directorate for Civil Defence to impose financial fines as stated in the Civil Defence Order and for cases whose penalty is imprisonment to be submitted to him, the Council decided to amend items 28, 29, 30, and 31 of the Civil Defence Order issued under Royal Order M/10, dated 10/5/1406AH to comply with the above-mentioned request by the Interior Minister. A Royal Decree was prepared in this respect.
After reviewing the request of the Interior Minister in which he sought approval of the Council to exclude workers recruited to serve the Holy Harams during Umrah and Hajj seasons from the period defined in clause 2 of Council of Ministers Resolution 137, dated 17/11/1415AH, the Council gave its approval, but limited the workers period of residence in the Kingdom to a maximum of five months from 15 Shaban.
After reviewing the request of the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Council to complete the official measures for the memorandum of understanding regarding bilateral political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Foreign Ministry of Malta, which was signed in Riyadh on 3/2/1424 AH (5/4/2003), the Council approved the memorandum, and a Royal Decree was prepared in this respect.
After reviewing a document submitted by the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on the annual report of the activities of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maden), the Council approved the annual report.
The Council approved the following appointments at Grade 14: Fahd bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al-Dugaither as Director General of Administration and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Agriculture; Ibrahim bin Abdullatif bin Ibrahim Al-Abdullatif as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs at King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology.
Source: SPA
