The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh today. At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the telephone calls and messages with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Turkish Republic, President Abd Rabbou Mansour Hadi of the Republic of Yemen, President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia and Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Emir of the State of Qatar, as well as the outcome of his talks with President Enrique Pena Nieto of the United States of Mexico, and the Speaker of the parliament of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan Asylbek Jeenbekov. The Cabinet confirmed the strong denunciation and condemnation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia of the terrorist attacks and hostilities which took place in Burkina Faso, Cameron, Indonesia, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia and Turkey, resulted in killing and injuring dozens of innocents, and affirmed the Kingdom's firm position against terrorism in all its forms regardless of its justifications as such acts are contradictory to all values, ethics and humanitarian principles and divine religions. The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom's emphasis before the annual meeting of the United Nations Organization in New York that it was and is still a pioneer in the fight of terrorism and extremism through its security, social and intellectual efforts and its endeavor to urge other member States to benefit from the Anti-Terrorism Center in the United Nations to implement the United Nations Secretary General's plan to combat extremism, noting that most victims of extremism all over the world are Muslims. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi, said that the Cabinet listened to a report on the outcome of the visits of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, to the United Arab Emirates and his meeting with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahayan, Crown Prince of Abu-Dhabi, and Vice Commander-in-chief of the armed forces and to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan at an invitation of the Pakistani government and his meeting with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and the Commander-in-chief of the Pakistani Army General Rahil Sharif. The Cabinet paid tribute to the Coalition for the Support of Legitimacy in Yemen, as well as King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid for delivering medical and relief materials to the besieged in the city of Taiz, particularly the besieged neighborhoods and topographically-rugged areas through air-dropping of medical and foodstuff assistance as well as other relief materials. On the domestic affairs, the Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet also lauded the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as he presided over the 3rd meeting of the Board of Trustees of King Fahd National Library's ninth session on the importance of the library's undertaking its responsibilities in the service of female and male readers and researchers. The Cabinet was also briefed on the agenda of today's session, including some of which were studied by the Shura Council and was briefed on the outcome reached by each of the General Committee of the Cabinet and the Cabinet's Experts Bureau. The Cabinet decided the following: First : The Cabinet approved the basic agreement on exchange and cooperation in the fields of geospatial intelligence between the Ministry of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Defense of the United States of America, which was signed in the city of Springfield, Virginia State on 21/03/1436 H. Second: The Council of Ministers deputized the President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage or his deputy to discuss with the Chinese side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Cultural Heritage Department of the People's Republic of China on cooperation and knowledge exchange in the field of cultural heritage, sign it, and then forward the final version for further authentication. Third: The Cabinet amended its Resolution No. 257 dated 14/06/1435 H. so that the headquarters of the Standing Committee of the Saudi Arbitration Centers will be located at the Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry instead of the Ministry of Justice. The Cabinet also assigned this committee to prepare the list of arbitrators and in the authorized centers so that the parties concerned could choose from them. Fourth: The Cabinet approved the Constituent Convention of the Asian Investment Bank on infrastructure, which was signed in Beijing on 12/9/1436 H. Fifth: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Communications and Information Technology or his deputy to discuss with the Chinese side a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of promoting the Silk Road Information development aiming to convey information between the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State Committee for Development and Reforms of the People's Republic of China, sign it, and forward the final version for further authentication. Sixth: The Cabinet adopted the guiding directory on beautification of cities in the municipalities of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in an implementation of the GCC Supreme Council resolution, taken at its 35th session which was held in Doha on 17/02/1436 H. Seventh: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding relating to the nuclear cooperation programs on establishing a partnership on small-compact-unit reactors technology and building of mutual nuclear human capabilities and academic research between King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Science, Information and Communications Technology and future planning of the Republic of Korea, which was signed on 12/5/1436 H. Eighth: The Cabinet decided to renew the membership of Abdul Aziz bin Mohammed Al-Athel to the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) and appointed Hamad bin Saud Al-Sayari and Khalid bin Ahmed Al-Jaffali as members of the Board of Directors of SAMA, for a period of five years retroactive to 13/03/1437 H. Ninth: The Cabinet approved the appointment of the following senior personnel: 1- Abdullatif bin Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Hareesh to the position of Legal Consultant at the 15th rank at the General Presidency of Youth Welfare. 2- Awadh bin Mohammed bin Ali Al Saeed as Assistant Undersecretary of Assir Region Governorate at the 14th rank at Assir Region Governorate. 3- Sami bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Mubarak as Assistant Undersecretary for Inspection and Labor Relations at the 14th rank at the Ministry of Labor. 4- Suleiman bin Ali bin Obaid Al-Obaid as Assistant Undersecretary for Real Estate Corporal Registration at the 14th rank at the Ministry of Justice 5- Abdulrahman bin Saleh Al-Abdal-Hadi as Director General of the Grand Mufti's office at the 14th rank at the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta The Cabinet also approved the transfer of: 6- Jameel bin Abbas bin Mustafa Sahali from the post of Governor of Amlaj Province (Category A) at the 14th rank at Tabuk Region governorate to the position of Assistant Undersecretary of Tabuk Region Governorate at the same rank. The Cabinet was briefed on annual reports of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Archives and Information and Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency for previous fiscal years and issued its directives on them.
