King Abdullah chairs Cabinet session (7/11/11)
July 11, 2011
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz began the Cabinet session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah today with a briefing on his contacts last week with foreign officials, including a visit he received from Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah.Afterwards, the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the continuing crises in a number of Arab countries. The ministers once again expressed their sorrow at the casualties caused by the violence and called for all parties to stop the bloodshed, to enact reforms, and to let the voice of reason prevail in order to maintain the security, unity and independence of the Arab nations.
The Cabinet welcomed the launching of the National Dialogue in Bahrain, as well as the formation of an independent fact-finding commission by order of Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa. It expressed satisfaction over the return of security and stability to Bahrain, while rejecting any external interference that undermines the security of any Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member state.
Finally, the Cabinet welcomed the establishment of the Republic of South Sudan, expressing hope that this development will contribute to the restoration of security in the region and lead to the achievement of the hopes and aspirations of the Sudanese people.
Addressing its weekly agenda, the Cabinet approved an agreement on general cooperation with Hungary, signed in Budapest on October 5, 2010; approved an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation and tax evasion with Bangladesh, signed in Riyadh on January 4, 2011; authorized the Minister of Commerce and Industry to sign a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the industrial field with Morocco; approved the Riyadh Memorandum of Understanding for the inspection and control of ships in the ports of the GCC member states; and approved the final accounts of the Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority for fiscal years (1427H./1428H.), (1428H./1429H.) and (1430H./1431H.).
The Cabinet approved the appointments of Salih Al-Mohaimeed as Undersecretary of the Governorate at the of Northern Borders Governorate (15th rank); Ruqayyah Al-Alola as Adviser for Education Affairs at the Ministry of Education (15th rank); Abdulaziz Al-Hadlaq as Social Counselor at the Ministry of Social Affairs (15th rank); and Saeed Al-Eid as Cultural Attaché at the Ministry of Higher Education (14th rank).
