King Abdullah chairs Cabinet session (3/19/12)
March 19, 2012
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz began the Cabinet session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh today with a briefing on his contacts last week with international leaders, including a visit from Jordan’s King Abdullah II; a message from Moroccan King Mohammed VI; and a telephone call from Spanish King Juan Carlos.The Cabinet discussed a number of reports on the latest developments in the Arab world, reiterating the importance of achieving an immediate end to the bloodshed and violence in Syria, in accordance with the Arab League plan. It also stressed the urgent need to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the displaced Syrian people.
The Cabinet hailed the positive outcome of the 29th session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, welcoming its efforts to strengthen Arab security cooperation. The ministers also expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) held last week in Kuwait, which included the participation of more than seventy oil producing and consuming countries. They reiterated the Kingdom’s determination to maintain stable oil markets, to the benefit of all nations, and to cooperate with other parties to achieve fair energy price levels. Moreover, the Cabinet pointed out the key role the Kingdom plays in global affairs, as a result of being the largest producer and exporter of oil, being a member of the Group of Twenty (G-20), and maintaining good relations with nearly all the countries of the world.
Addressing the items remaining on its agenda, the Cabinet approved a series of controls regarding the employment of the families of martyrs and their admission to universities and colleges; approved a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of health between the Saudi Ministry of Health and the British Ministry of Health; and approved the final accounts of the Saudi Railways for fiscal year 1431/1432 H. and the Saudi Industrial Development Fund for fiscal year 1430/1431 H.
The Cabinet approved the appointments of Khalid Al-Haij as Undersecretary of the Makkah Municipality for Construction and Projects at the Makkah Municipality (15th rank); Mohammed Al-Rashed as Survey Consultant at the Saudi Geological Survey Commission (15th rank); and Abdulaziz Al-Hafez as Director General for Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Eastern Province Municipality (14th rank). It approved the transfer of Dr. Abdullah Al-Shehri from the post of Director General (14th rank) to the post of Director General of Information Technology (14th rank) at the General Intelligence Presidency.
