Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, chaired the Cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Monday.
At the outset of the session, the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on the contents of talks held with President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian National Authority on the latest developments in the Arab, Islamic and international arenas.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-E'ban, the Minister of State, Cabinet's Member and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said that the Crown Prince renewed the Kingdom's support for the Palestinian people to regain their rights and set up their independent state with Al-Quds as its capital.
He noted that the Cabinet stressed its commitment to the contents of the Kingdom's speech which was delivered in the 61st session of the United Nations International Human Rights Commission in Geneva. The Kingdom affirmed that the responsibility of preserving human rights should be shouldered by governments as they are supported by civil organizations and international institutions including the Human Rights Commission; the Kingdom had laid emphasis on the development of citizens and societies in agreement with their peculiarities and needs, but not in accordance with theories and ideas imposed from abroad. The Kingdom also emphasized that the programs of development, modernization and growth cannot be accomplished without appropriate conditions and atmosphere, particularly the achievement of peace, stability and peace in the Middle East which has mostly suffered from the absence of stability, security and peace due to the Israeli occupation of Arab territories.
The Cabinet was then briefed on the contents of talks, contacts and meetings held over the previous days with the leaders of a number of Arab and friendly countries, the minister said.
Acting Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet then discussed the local items on its agenda and issued the following decisions:
The Cabinet ratified the Arab League Council's Convention of Reconciliation and Solidarity which has been issued by the 16th Arab summit meeting.
The meeting also approved a draft memorandum of understanding between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Tunisia to form a political follow-up and consultation committee which aims at enhancing aspects of cooperation and coordination of positions between the two countries at Arab and international platforms.
The Cabinet also approved a draft memorandum of understanding between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of the Sudan to form a political follow-up and consultation committee which aims at enhancing aspects of cooperation and coordination of positions between the two countries at Arab and International platforms.
The Cabinet ratified an amendment made by the Arab League's 16th summit to Paragraph 1 of Article 8 of the Arab Joint Defense and Economic Cooperation Treaty to read as follows:
" The Arab League sets up the Economic and Social Council as one of its affiliates and should include ministers from Arab member states in charge of economic and financial affairs who will be assigned by their home governments, taking in mind the nature of the council's functions and importance of continuation of representation and efficiency. The council's mission is to achieve the economic and social objectives of the Arab League and what is related to it as per the Arab League charter or this treaty or the signed agreements within the AL's framework."
The Cabinet endorsed a proposal submitted by the Chief of Experts Commission to transfer the General Commission for Civil Aviation to a public organization of legal personality and is financially and administratively independent organization.
According to the new system, the General Commission for Civil Aviation will be assigned to organize the civil aviation sector and the air transportation industry and takes care of their development upon commercial bases and considerations.
The Cabinet approved the appointment of Hazza'a bin Hamas bin Sultan Al'asemi Al'aseeri as Director General of the Labor minister's office; Ali bin Sulaiman bin Abdullah Alhadeethi as Director General of Computer Department at the Ministry of Finance; Abdulrahman bin Abdullah bin Abdulrazeq Alabdulrazeq as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs Department at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and Mohammed bin Rashid bin Ibrahim Alhimaidi as Legal Expert (B) at the Experts Commission of the Cabinet.
