The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session held at Al-Yamamah Palace here today. At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the messages he sent to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain; Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait; Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar and President Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates. The King briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of his meeting with a delegation of the Arab Republic of Egypt led by the Speaker of Egyptian People's Assembly and Speaker of Egyptian Al Shura Council which included a number of the two councils' members, prominent political leaders and representatives of other sectors in the Arab Republic of Egypt. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques reiterated that his directives regarding the return of the Saudi Ambassador to Egypt and reopening of the Kingdom's embassy and consulates in Alexandria and Suez came in response to the noble and sincere feelings expressed by the Egyptian delegation representing the entire spectrum of the Egyptian people towards the Kingdom, and were emanating from the joint history between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Republic of Egypt, and from the Kingdom's mutual feelings towards the government and people of Egypt. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, Minister of Health and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet highly appreciated the wisdom of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in dealing with the transient crisis in the relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt and in averting anyone's attempt to disturb the firm, solid and growing relations between the two countries and peoples. The Cabinet appreciated the noble, highly expected attitude shown by the Egyptian delegation towards the Kingdom's government and people which reflects the depth of relations and sincerity of brotherhood between the two peoples. Dr. Al-Rabeeah added that the Cabinet reviewed the latest developments at Arab, regional and international arenas and their repercussions. The Cabinet congratulated French President-Elect Francois Hollande on his election as President of France and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation on assuming presidency in his country, expressing the aspirations of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work with them to strengthen relations of cooperation between the Kingdom and each of the two countries in various fields. Then, the Cabinet was briefed by Crown Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, on the outcomes of the 13th Consultative Meeting of the Ministers of Interior of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States which confirmed that the collective security among the GCC member states is an important requirement to maintain security and stability and to protect the achievements and gains made by the GCC member states through their blessed march of development. The Cabinet appreciated the GCC Ministers of Interior's support for the call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for the transition from the stage of cooperation to Union among the GCC countries reflecting the King's aspiration to strengthen the GCC joint action amid the current and future challenges engulfing the GCC countries and their peoples. The Cabinet also lauded the approval of the GCC Ministers of Interior for initiating a draft security agreement among the GCC member states in its amended version, and their decision to forward it to the GCC leaders for approval. The Cabinet was then briefed on the outcomes of the 93rd session of the GCC Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee, noting the importance attached to the economic dimension in the formation of the group in its capacity as one of the main pillars for implementing the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to push the GCC from the current phase of cooperation to the phase of union as well as the importance of intensifying work to complete the matter on the agenda of the GCC's sub-committees to meet the requirements of the King's initiative which will have a great positive impact on the gains the GCC citizens will reap from the economic integration process. On the domestic affairs, the Council addressed a host of scientific, economic and cultural activities that took place over the week, including the awarding ceremony of Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Prizes and Grants for Research and Studies on the History of Arab Peninsula as well as the launching of King Abdulaziz Book Prize, patronized by Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Defense, who is also Chairman of the Board of Directors of King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives and Chairman of the Higher Commission for Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Prizes. Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah said the Council then continued discussions of its agenda and issued the following decisions: The Cabinet approved the Arab Agreement on Transporting the Inmates of Penal and Reformatory Institutions within the framework of carrying out the Penal Verdicts as per the appendices of the decision. The Cabinet approved a recommendation by the Minister of Foreign Affairs to exempt Saudi pre-school students affiliated with Saudi schools abroad from the fixed tuition fees. The sons and daughters of Saudi delegates on long missions, employees and scholarships abroad will benefit from this gesture. The Minister of Culture and Information or his deputy was assigned to discuss with the Comoro side a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Culture and Information of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Broadcasting and TV Commission of the United Comoro Republic to allow the Comoro TV to re-broadcast selected items of Nidaa Al-Islam (Call of Islam) broadcasting station, holy Quran broadcasting station and holy Quran TV channel of Saudi Arabia. Upon recommendations of the Minister of Water and Electricity, the membership of four members of the Board of Directors of the Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority was renewed for three years, effective 9/5/1433H. They are: Dr. Fahd bin Hamid Dakheel; Eng. Safar bin Mohammed Zufair; Eng. Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Habeeb; and Dr. Khalid bin Hussein Bayari. In a related measure, the Cabinet approved to appoint Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al-Mu'etaz as member of the Board of Directors of the Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority for three years, effective the date of the issuance of the decision. The Cabinet approved a number of appointments of high-ranking government officials as follows: 1- Dr. Ibrahim bin Mubarak bin Nasser Al-Dujain is appointed to the post of Undersecretary of Mayor for Construction and Projects (Rank 15) at Riyadh Region Municipality. 2- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Miteb Al-Mazyad is appointed to the post of Director General of Follow-up (Rank 14) at the Ministry of Interior. 3- Eng. Mohammed bin Abdulhadi bin Mohammed Al-Amry is appointed to the post of Mayor of Najran Region (Rank 14) at Najran Region Municipality. 4- Khalid bin Fahd bin Mohammed bin Hussain is appointed to the post of Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs (Rank 14) at the General Presidency of Youth Welfare. 5- Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Aqeel is appointed to the post of Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry for Courts Affairs (Rank 14) at the Ministry of Justice. 6- Mohammed bin Mutlaq bin Hamdan Al-Nafeeai is appointed to the post of (Director General of President's Office (Rank 14) at the General Auditing Bureau.
