The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prime Minister, chaired the Cabinet's virtual session today. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on the content of the letter received by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria as well as the talks and mutual visits between officials in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a number of countries, which aimed at consolidating joint cooperation and collective action in a manner that contributes to further development in relations and supports security and stability in the region and the entire world. Then, the Cabinet addressed the Future Minerals Forum, was held in Riyadh, the signed agreements and memorandums of understanding that it witnessed and discussions on the most important future trends in the sector, the features of the future of minerals in the sustainable development of the world and the role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in developing this sector in light of Saudi Vision 2030 that aims at expanding the industrial base and economic diversification, in addition to making the mining sector a third pillar of national industries and increasing its contribution to the GDP from USD 17 billion to USD 64 billion by 2030. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on events and their developments in various arenas, reiterating the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's condemnation of the terrorist attack that targeted Abu Dhabi International Airport. The Cabinet affirmed Saudi Arabia's full support for the United Arab Emirates against all that threatens its security and stability, stressing that Saudi Arabia's through its leadership of the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen will continue to confront all Houthi terrorist attempts and the threat they pose to security and peace in the region and the world. The Cabinet considered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia' maintenance of the third rank globally among the biggest donor countries of humanitarian assistance in 2021, and being biggest donors for Yemen according to the UN Financial Tracking Service (FTS), a reflection of the firm values and principles of this country and its people in providing assistance to those in need everywhere. The Cabinet also considered this achievement as an embodiment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's high international status in this field. The Cabinet applauded the efforts being exerted to combat drug smuggling into the Kingdom and protect society from this scourge. The Cabinet commended the contribution of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, in coordination with General Directorate of Narcotics Control, in thwarting two attempts to smuggle more than 8.3 million Captagon pills and arresting their recipients. The Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions: First: Authorizing the Minister of Sports – or a deputy – to hold talks with the United Kingdom side on a draft cooperation agreement in the sports field between the Ministry of Sports in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, signing it and referring the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Second: Authorizing the Minister of Interior – or a deputy – and the Minister of Justice – or a deputy – to sign the draft Arab agreement on prohibiting and combating human cloning, before referring the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Third: Approving the guidance model for a cooperation agreement to exchange personal data and information for security purposes and protecting them between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and governments of states of Gulf Cooperation Council for Arab States, and authorizing the Minister of Interior – or a deputy – to hold talks with specialized authorities in GCC states on a draft agreement to exchange personal data and information for security purposes and protecting them and sign it before referring the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fourth: Authorizing the Minister of Tourism – or a deputy – to hold talks with Seychelles on a draft memorandum of understanding in the tourism fields between the Ministry of Tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism in the Republic of Seychelles, and sign it before referring the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fifth: Approving a memorandum of understanding in the tourism field between the Ministry of Tourism in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in the Republic of Kenya. Sixth: Authorizing the Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Board of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority – or a deputy – to sign a draft agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Japan on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs issues and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Seventh: Approving a memorandum of cooperation between General Authority of Civil Aviation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and General Civil Aviation Authority in the United Arab Emirates in the field of civil aviation security. Eighth: Amending Paragraphs (1) and (3) of Item (Fifth) of the Bylaw of the National Center for Psychiatry issued under a Cabinet decision No. (685) dated on 27/11/1440 Hijri, which are related to the board of directors of the center. Ninth: Assigning February 10 of every year to celebrate the Arabian tiger, with the aim of spreading awareness to protect the Arabian tiger from extinction and acquainting the public with the goals of the Arabian Tiger Fund. The Cabinet also reviewed a number of general topics on its agenda and took the necessary measures regarding these topics.
