The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, while presiding over a regular meeting of the Cabinet here on Monday, briefed it on the outcome of his recent talks with President Hosni Mubarak, which focused on regional and international developments, notably the latest developments of the Palestinian problem, the current situation in Iraq and
aspects of Saudi-Egyptian cooperation.
The King also spoke about contents of his meetings, contacts and consultations with some leaders of the world and their envoys and representatives.
The Minister of Culture and Information, Iyad Madani, in his briefing to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the meeting, said the Cabinet offered condolences to the governments and peoples of Pakistan and India which were recently hit by an earthquake. The Cabinet also offered condolences to the families of the victims of the earthquake.
Madani pointed out that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the directives of King Abdullah, will mobilize its resources for the assistance of the victims of the earthquake, adding that the King has issued his directives to launch a donation campaign throughout the Kingdom to enable the people to express their sympathy with the victims of the disaster.
As regards the situation in Iraq, Madani said the Cabinet hoped that the Iraqis would cooperate with the Arab League delegation, which is currently visiting Iraq, to realize national reconciliation and Arab and Islamic unity.
On the domestic issues, King Abdullah highlighted the achievements of the Saudi economy during the fiscal year 1425-1426 AH, due to Kingdom's sound economic policies and positive developments at the oil market.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet adopted a number of resolutions:
- Appointment of Mohammed bin Omar Al-Eisa'ei as a member of the Board of Directors of the Higher Tourism Commission, replacing Eng. Adel bin Mohammed Faqih.
- Authorization of the Secretary General of the King Abdulaziz Center, or his deputy, to conduct talks with Iran for preparation of a draft of a cooperation memorandum between the King Abdulaziz Center and the Center of Archives and Research Services at the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
In the light of a report submitted by the Minister of Finance on the financial sector and the financial policy in the Kingdom and the reforms undertaken, including the establishment of a stock market and enhancing the system to stop money laundering, the Cabinet approved the following:
- Coordination and cooperation of all governmental authorities with the Department of General Statistics to provide it with regular economic statements.
- The concerned authorities should exert further efforts for improving transparency in the preparation of the aforesaid statements.
- The concerned authorities will deepen the secondary stock market and establish a secondary market for the governmental securities.
- Acceleration of work for setting up the system of real estate mortgage.
The Cabinet also authorized the Minister of Transport, or his deputy, to conduct talks with the Turkish side for the preparation of a draft of a cooperation agreement between the Kingdom and Turkey in the field of shipping.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet authorized the Governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), or his deputy, to sign the draft of the investment agreement between the Kingdom and Switzerland.
The Cabinet also approved the appointment of Eng Fahd bin Mohammed bin Othman Al-Jubeir as the assistant undersecretary for technical affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, at grade 14th.
Transference of Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Mutlaq who works at the Governorate of the Eastern region, and his appointment as minister plenipotentiary at grade 14th at the Foreign Ministry, was also approved.
