Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard chaired on Monday the Cabinet's weekly session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.
At the outset of the session, the Crown Prince praised Almighty God for the successful surgery which has been recently undergone by Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, wishing him good health.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy said that the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on the contents of meetings, contacts, messages and consultations held in the previous days with a number of leaders of some brotherly and friendly countries. The Cabinet was also informed of reports on the latest developments in the Arab and international arenas.
The Cabinet praised the efforts of the ministers of interior of Arab Gulf Cooperation Council in their consultative meeting in Kuwait during which they signed an agreement to combat terrorism and they expressed their full support for the Kingdom in all its measures taken to confront terrorist actions. The Cabinet pointed out that the signing of the agreement came within activation of the strategy of GCC countries to fight extremism which leads to terrorism, and affirmed support for all regional and international efforts aiming at combating terrorism that threatens the security and stability of all countries. The Cabinet thanked all countries that had expressed their sympathy with and support for the Kingdom and the efforts that had been exerted to combat terrorism internally and externally, Dr. Al-Farsy added.
As regards the latest developments at the Palestinian and Iraqi arenas, the Cabinet affirmed that the troublesome developments in the Palestinian territories and Iraq necessitate that every effort must be made at the international level to confront these extremely dangerous developments that threaten the region.
The Cabinet emphasized that the delay of the peace process in the region was a result of the Israeli government's obduracy which always has the aim of destroying the peace process and denying the Palestinian people their right to set up an independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital.
In this regard, the Cabinet reviewed the statements of U.S. President George W. Bush in which he announced that the date of 2005 for the setting up of an independent Palestinian state, as stated by the ''Road Map'', is probably unrealistic. The Cabinet hoped that these statements will not disrupt the "Road Map'', especially the timetable of the Israeli withdrawal. It was the Cabinet’s view that these statements served what had been Israel's purpose from the beginning, namely to undermine the foundations of the peace process, and that support for [Israel’s] unilateral decisions undermine the credibility of international law and United Nations resolutions.
The Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet then continued discussions of local items on its agenda and took the following decisions:
The Council of Ministers approved the new regulations on the housing system of
families of martyrs and servicemen or civilians missing and/or injured in action and thus sustaining permanent disability.
The new regulations cover those who died in war against an enemy or during active duty of keeping security or taking part in military manoeuvres or operations; those who sustained complete paralysis, mental disturbance, loss of eyes or limbs while in action or due to an act of war against enemy or during the active duty of keeping security or taking part in military manoeuvres or operations; those who were missing in action or while carrying out military or security tasks. The regulations identified the concept of family and explained its housing allowance.
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Interior or his deputy to sign a memorandum of understanding between the Civil Defense Directorate of the Ministry of Interior and the United Nations Development Program.
The Cabinet decided to apply the prescribed premium of SR1,000 for attending a
session of a board of directors with a maximum payment of SR15,000 per year for
the members of the board of directors of the Electric Services Authority.
The Council of Ministers approved the recommendations of the ministerial
committee on developing the performance of services provided by the ports in the
Kingdom.
The Cabinet agreed to delegate Abdulmohsin bin Abdulaziz Alfares, the Director
General of the Zakat (alms) and Income Department, to represent the Ministry of
Finance in the meetings of the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) instead of Dr. Jubrah bin Eid Alsuraisiry.
The Cabinet approved the transfer of Abdullah bin Ibrahim Alabdulwahab, the
Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Education to the position of Director General of the Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Interior; appointment of Eng. Mohammed bin Hamad Alyahya as Undersecretary of Youth Welfare for Technical Affairs; Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsin bin Hamad Almansour as Assistant Undersecretary for Municipal Affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs; and Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Nasser Altuwaijri as Director General of the State's Properties at the Ministry of Finance.
Source: SPA
