King Abdullah chairs Cabinet session (6/20/11)
June 20, 2011
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the Cabinet session held at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah today. At the outset, he prayed to Allah Almighty that the medical check-ups Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz is currently undergoing in the United States turn out well, praying to Allah to preserve him and to return him safely to the homeland. Then, the King briefed the Cabinet on the talks that took place during the past days with a number of foreign leaders, including the audience he held for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the telephone calls he received from U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.The Cabinet discussed the latest international developments, reaffirming the stances included in the final statement of the 119th session of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in regard to regional events. The ministers hailed the recommendations issued by the Conference of the Muslim Ummah Scholars, held in Dakar at the initiative of Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, in which Saudi Arabia participated.
On domestic affairs, the Cabinet praised the royal order issued by King Abdullah to allocate annually a sum of SR 476 million [$126.92 million] to support the Takaful Charitable Foundation, which aims to assist needy students throughout public schools. It reaffirmed the importance of the 11th Scientific Forum for Hajj-Related Research and Hajj & Umrah Exhibition, recently inaugurated by Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz under the motto: “Towards Achieving the Vision,” which was attended by 1,000 experts and researchers from around the world.
The Cabinet welcomed the news that the Rite Sites Train project which will be completed in time for the upcoming Hajj season. Finally, the ministers expressed approval of the progress being made by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ Project to Improve the Judiciary.
Regarding its remaining agenda items, the Cabinet authorized the Minister of Interior to sign a draft agreement in the field of prisoner transfers with Azerbaijan; authorized the Minister of Foreign Affair to sign a draft agreement on general cooperation with Cameroon; approved the establishment of the Saudi Company for Development and Technical Investment (Teqniah); and approved the final accounts of the General Organization of Grain Silos and Flour Mills for fiscal year 1430/1431H.
The Cabinet approved the appointments of Dr. Adel bin Siraj bin Salah Mirdad as Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Dr. Salem bin Khalid bin Ali Al-Nuwaissir as Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
