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 Crown Prince renewed his thanks and appreciation to the leaders of sisterly and friendly countries and the Saudi people for their continuing inquiring and being reassured about the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on the message of President Catherine Samba Panza of the Central African Republic to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the results of his meetings with the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif and the delegation of members of the United States Senate, during which they reviewed the aspects of bilateral cooperation between the Kingdom and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the United States of America. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Khudhairi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Translation Award, whose handing-over ceremony to the winners in its seventh session was held at the headquarters of the United Nations Organization in Geneva last Thursday in great Arab and international cultural presence reflecting its civilizational, cultural and scientific importance in achieving the communication between the peoples of the world. The Cabinet reviewed a number of cultural and heritage activities in the Kingdom this week, including the opening of Souq Okaz in its eighth session in Taif and Second historic Jeddah Festival, affirming the significant impact of these two cultural events on the cultural, scientific, and literary renaissance being witnessed in the Kingdom, as well as their reminding of the story of the great human and cultural heritage. The Cabinet welcomed the decisions issued by Conference of Ministers Responsible for Cultural Affairs in the Arab World in its nineteenth session concluded in Riyadh on Tuesday, stressing the importance of the role of the Conference in the Arab cultural and creative renaissance. The Council of Ministers expressed satisfaction with the intensification by the Saudi national campaign to support our brothers in Syria for its relief efforts to alleviate the sufferings of our brothers the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, and help them to mitigate the effects of the bitter cold in the region. The Minister of Culture and Information said that the Council of Ministers welcomed the decisions issued by the Arab League Council at the level of Foreign Ministers, in its meeting held last Thursday in Cairo, including the intensification of contacts and consultations to rally international support for re-introducing a new Arab draft resolution in the UN Security Council on ending the occupation and the achievement of the final settlement of the occupation; continued consultation on this matter with the state members of the Council and regional groups; adherence to the Arab peace initiative put forward by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and endorsed by the Arab summit in Beirut in 2002; and emphasis that it is the ideal solution to achieve peace. The Council of Ministers noted the assertion by the Kingdom in its speech before the Security Council last week on the item of the situation in the Middle East that it considers the Palestinian issue as its first cause and will not hesitate to provide support for the Palestinian brothers in the face of the occupation, through various means of political action, legal effort and economic support. Dr. Al-Khudhairi said that the Council took the following: First: After review of what has been submitted by the President of Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), and after consideration of Majlis Al-Shura's resolution (119/63) dated 27/10/2014, the Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of South Africa to cooperate in the field of tourism, signed in Riyadh on 16/02/2014. A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose. Second: The Cabinet authorized the President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), or his deputy, as follows: 1. To discuss with the Senegalese side the amendment of the bilateral agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Senegal for the establishment and operation of an international regular airline services between their respective territories and beyond, approved by Royal Decree No. (M / 21) dated 06/10/1966. 2. To discuss with the competent authorities of the Republic of Sudan regarding the amendment of the air agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Sudan, approved by Royal Decree No. (M / 7) and the date of 14/04/1974, by adding articles concerning the definition of Carriers and aviation safety standards, or any other amendment the Authority may consider, and signing the amendment, before submitting the final signed version for the completion of the necessary statutory procedures. Third: The Cabinet approved extending the work of two paragraphs (7) and (8) of the rules and procedures to address the delay in the implementation of government projects, approved by the Cabinet's resolution No. (155) dated 09/06/2008 for another three years. Fourth: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Labor or his deputy to discuss with his counterparts of the countries that send workers abroad to prepare bilateral draft agreements in the field of employment of the workers between the Ministry of Labour in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its counterparts in those countries, sign them, and then submit them for completion of statutory procedures. Fifth: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Civil Service or his deputy to discuss with the Canadian side a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of civil service between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of Canada, sign it, and then sumbit the final version for completion of statutory procedures. Sixth: The Cabinet approved the following appointments: 1- Eid bin Mohammed bin Ali Al-Thaqafi to job of ambassador at the Foreign Ministry. 2- Ibrahim bin Saad bin Ibrahim bin Bishan to the job of Minister Plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry. 3- Abdullah bin Fahd bin Ali Al-Qahtani to the job of Minister Plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry. 4- Abdullah bin Suleiman bin Mohammed bin Mubarak to the job of assistant undersecretary of the governorate for rights, rank 14, at the governorate of Riyadh region. 5- Munawar bin Ayedh bin Dgyeman Almaimooni to the job of Director General of Information Technology, rank 14, at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution. 6- Jamal bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Ajaji to the job of economic adviser, rank 14, at the Ministry of Finance. 7- Mishaan bin Marzouq bin Awadh Al-Mutairi to the job of Director General of the Eastern Region Branch, rank 14, at the General Presidency for Scholarly Research and Fatwas. The Cabinet also reviewed the two annual reports of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization and the Board of Grievances for two previous fiscal years and issued the relevant instructions about them. The Cabinet's secretariat general will forward the outcome of today's session to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to issue his directives in this regard.
