Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz on Monday chaired the Cabinet’s weekly session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.
At the outset of the session, the King expressed his thanks to the leaders of Arab, Islamic and other countries and organizations for affirming their solidarity and support of the Kingdom following the devastating terrorist attacks in AL-Khobar city, which resulted in the death and injury of numerous innocent victims.
The King expressed his condolences to families of the victims, and wished those injured a speedy recovery to full health.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Minister of Culture and Information Dr Fouad bin Abdulsalam Al-Farsy said that the King stressed the Kingdom’s determination to confront and combat militant and deviant groups that threaten the stability and security of the Kingdom for innocent and industrious citizens and expatriates. He reiterated that the teachings of Islam abhor such acts of violence and terrorisation, urging all citizens and security forces to continue strengthening their efforts to eliminate terrorist groups in cooperation and solidarity.
“Every citizen, male and female, is recruited to serve the country in combating this terrorist blight. Every official and citizen is considered a soldier who must redouble every effort according to the demands of the situation and who must be vigilant in carrying out the duty of serving the safety and security of the country, citizens and residents,” the King said.
Dr Al-Farsy said that the Cabinet then reviewed items on its domestic agenda and issued the following decisions:
Two new articles regarding technical premiums in the payment of National Guard and Interior Ministry military personnel were inserted into Article IV of the Executive Regulation of each department’s Service of Personnel documents.
The Cabinet approved the Shoura Council’s proposal on a system to combat commercial fraud. According to the new system, the Department of Investigations and General Prosecution will be responsible for law enforcement, instead of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. The Court of Grievances will be responsible for settling disputes currently settled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Fines for those involved in fraudulent, disguised businesses will be increased from SR500,000 to SR1 million.
The Council of Ministers approved a number of regulations to increase employment opportunities for Saudi women. Among other things, the Cabinet decided that Saudi women should replace non-Saudi female shopkeepers.
The Cabinet approved the opening of branches of several foreign banks in the Kingdom, provided that they adhere to Saudi financial regulations. The banks include Deutsche Bank, BNB Bariba and JP Morgan Chase.
Dr Abdulwahid bin Khalid Al-Homaid, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Labour for Planning and Development, will replace Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Babtain, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Social Affairs for Social Insurance, as representative of the Ministry of Labour on the Board of Directors of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI).
The Cabinet approved the appointment of Dr Saeed bin Ayedh bin Ali Al-Zahrani as Advisor for Combating Crime at the Interior Ministry; Dr Fahd bin Abdul Aziz bin Abdulkareem Al-Tuwaijri as Deputy Governor for Training Affairs at the General Establishment for Technical Education and Vocational Training; Saad bin Abdullah bin Saad bin Khaneen as Educational Consultant at the Ministry of Education; and Dr Khalid bin Mohammed bin Jamal Al-Mirghalani as Director General for Health Affairs of Riyadh Region at the Ministry of Health.
Source: SPA
