Crown Prince Chairs Cabinet's Session

Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday afternoon.
At the outset of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on the talks held by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, commending deep bilateral relations between the two countries and the keenness on their enhancement in various fields in the service of the interests of the two brotherly countries and their peoples.
The Crown Prince welcomed the new ministers who were appointed by orders issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, wishing them all success and urging them to intensify their efforts with their Cabinet's colleagues and put the interests of citizens at the forefront of their priorities in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
The Crown Prince also expressed his deep thanks and appreciation to the ministers, who were relieved by royal orders of their posts at their request, for their blessed efforts in the service of the religion and the homeland.
Then the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on his talks with the President of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara, during which they reviewed the bilateral relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing them in all fields.
In his statement to Saudi Press Agency, following the session, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Khudhairi said that the Council of Ministers, commended the final communiquأ© of the 35th session of the Supreme Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Arab States, which was concluded in Doha; including decisions and Doha Declaration, and characterized by keenness of the GCC leaders on both what is good for the people of the Council and support for the march of its states and their firm positions on various political, regional and international issues and developments, reiterating welcome by the Kingdom, led by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, of the leaders of the GCC countries in the next thirty sixth session in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The minister said that the council then reviewed a number of reports about the developments and their Arab, regional and international implications and condemned the assassination by the Israeli authorities of the Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein, reiterating the Kingdom's appeals to the international community to provide protection for the Palestinian people and stop the State terrorism practiced by the Israeli authorities against the unarmed Palestinian people.
Dr. Al-Khudhairi said that, based on the Royal Directive, the Cabinet was briefed, during its session dated 15/02/2014, on a number of issues of which Majlis Al-Shura has taken part in their study, as it was also briefed on the outcomes of the Cabinet's Bureau of Experts, General Committee and its Subcommittee concerning them. The Cabinet concluded the following:
First:
After reviewing what has been submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Cabinet authorized the Minister - or his deputy - to discuss with the Togolese side a draft general agreement for cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Togo and sign it, before submitting the final signed version to complete the statutory procedures.
Second:
After reviewing what has been submitted by the President of General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the Cabinet authorized GACA President - or his deputy - to sign draft agreements on air services between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Governments of the Republic of Paraguay; Eastern Republic of Uruguay; Republic of Seychelles; Republic of Zambia; Republic of Zimbabwe; Republic of Rwanda; Republic of Togo; United Republic of Tanzania; Republic of Cote d'Ivoire; Republic of Mauritius, and Kingdom of Swaziland, before submitting the final signed copies to complete the statutory procedures.
Third:
The Council of Ministers approved a number of measures concerning prevention of sale of requirements and specifications booklets to struggling contractors including the following:
1- Requirements and specifications booklets shall not be sold to a contractor in any of the following cases:
A- If more than a government's decision has been issued to withdraw a government project from him for his failure in implementation.
B- If he has apologized for non-implementation of more than a government project after the awarding.
C- If he has delayed or slowed down - for reasons attributable to him - the implementation of work in more than a government project and the work has not been withdrawn from him.
2- Application of the provisions of paragraph (1) shall be limited to the status of the contractor in the last (three) years from the date of announcement of the sale of the booklet.
3- Prevention of the sale of requirements and specifications booklet to a struggling contractor shall be issued by a decision by the concerned minister or the head of the independent department based on the recommendation of the bids examination committee provided that the duration of the ban shall not exceed (three) years from the date of issuance of the decision, and the prohibition shall be limited to the projects of the body that issued it.
Fourth:
The cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance - or his deputy - to sign a draft agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Macedonia for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and to prevent tax evasion, and then submit the final signed version for the completion of the necessary statutory procedures.
Fifth:
The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance - or his deputy - to sign a draft agreement on customs cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt, before submitting the final signed version for the completion of the statutory procedures.
Sixth:
The Cabinet approved the organization of the Consumer Protection Association, and the Minister of Commerce and Industry shall appoint its first Executive Council after the issuance of this organization for a three-year term. The Cabinet also approved the allocation of a rate set by the Minister of Commerce and Industry from the membership subscriptions charged by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry in each region for the benefit of Consumer Protection Associations and specialized private societies, which may arise in the future in the sectors concerned with consumer protection, conditioned that this rate shall be deposited in a special account and distributed to those societies, according to the rates set by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Seventh:
The Cabinet approved the final account of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) for the fiscal year (2011/2012).
The Cabinet was briefed on annual reports of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Transport and General Organization for Social Insurance for two fiscal previous years. The Cabinet issued its directives towards them.
The Cabinet's General Secretariat shall submit the results of this session to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for issuing his directives in this regard.