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. The Cabinet expressed its thanks to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his order to establish three new universities in Hafr Al-Baten, Bishah and Jeddah, which is an embodiment of his interest in the march of education in the Kingdom, its prosperity and the inclusion of all regions of the Kingdom and its governorates in the services of higher education. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohiuddin Khoja said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the development of events at Arab, regional and international arenas. The Cabinet condemned in this regard the terrorist bombings that took place near the University of Cairo which resulted in the death and injury of a number of innocent people, reaffirming the Kingdom's firm positions on renouncing terrorism in all its forms and whatever might be its motivation and justifications. The Cabinet called for the concerted efforts of the international community to discuss ways to prevent committing crimes of genocide and a repeat of historic massacres, commending the holding of the International Conference on Prevention of Genocide in Brussels, and appealing in this regard to the international community to stand firmly to prevent the sufferings of the Syrian people from human crimes. The minister said that the cabinet then discussed a number of issues on local affairs, commending the launch of work for implementation of the five sites of King Abdulaziz public transportation project in Riyadh - train and buses -, which will contribute to facilitating road traffic in the city of Riyadh and raising the levels of its quality. The council commended the organization by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance of Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz local contest for memorization of the Holy Quran for boys and girls on his award, which will be concluded on Tuesday. Dr. Khoja said that, based on a royal directive, the cabinet was briefed during its session held on 07.06.1435 H. on a number of topics and made the following decisions: First: 1- Modifying the name of the General Presidency of the Department of Scholarly Research and Ifta to the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta. 2- Modifying the name of the Standing Committee for Research and Fatwa to the Standing Committee of Fatwa. This committee shall issue fatwa in affairs concerning government agencies, or individuals' personal affairs, in addition to the tasks and functions referred to the Organizational Manual of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Ifta. Second: After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and after consideration of Majlis Al-Shura's decision No. (129/61) dated 29/01/1435 AH, the Cabinet approved a general agreement of cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, signed in (Almaty) city on 16/06/1434 AH. A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose. Third: The Cabinet approved the authorization of the Minister of Foreign Affairs - or his deputy - to discuss with the Mozambican side a general draft agreement of cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique and to sign it before submitting the final signed version to complete the statutory procedures. Fourth: After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Interior and Chairman of National Committee for Narcotic Control (NCNC), the Cabinet approved the addition of the Minister of Labor to the membership of the above mentioned Committee. Fifth: After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Justice and Chairman of the General Authority for State of Funds of Minors and The like, the Cabinet approved the appointment of the following as members of its Board of Directors for a period of three years: 1 - Sheikh Dr. Yusuf bin Abdullah bin Saleh Al-Shubaily. 2 - Sheikh Ahmed bin Yahiya bin Jaber Al-Faifi. 3 - Dr. Mohammed bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Osaimi. 4 - Engineer Abdullah bin Saied bin Mohammed Al-Mombti. 5 - Ajlan Bin Abdulaziz Bin Ajlan Al-Ajllan. 6 - Abdulrahman bin Fahd bin Abdul-Latif Al-Jabr. 7 - Engineer Abdulaziz bin Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Gumaih. 8 - Yassin bin Khalid bin Yassin Khayat . 9 - Engineer Saad bin Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Moagl. Sixth: After reviewing the report submitted by the Minister of Economy and Planning and after consideration of Majlis Al-Shura's decision No. (9/6) dated 20/03/1435 AH, the Cabinet approved the statute of the Statistical Center of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member States, approved by the decision of the GCC Supreme Council in its (33rd) session, held in the Kingdom of Bahrain on 11-12/02/1434 AH. A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose. Seventh: The Cabinet approved appointments as follows: 1 - Engineer Ali bin Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Khalifa as Civil Engineer Advisor (rank 15th) at the Ministry of Defense. 2 - Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Abdullah Al-Hudaithi as Administrative Advisor (rank 15th) at the Ministry of Higher Education. 3 - Abdullah bin Ali bin Manie Al Manie as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs (rank 14th) at King Abdulaziz Military College of Ministry of Defense. 4 - Engineer Abdulaziz bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Bassam as Mayor of Onaizah (rank 14th) at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. 5 - Engineer Hatem bin Omar bin Mohammed Taha as Under-Secretary Mayor for Reconstruction and Projects (rank 14th) at the Secretariat of Madinah region . 6 - Dr. Ibrahim bin Zaid bin Mohammed Al Ma'adi as Director General of the Office of Minister (rank 14) at the Ministry of Higher Education. 7 - Ali bin Suleiman bin Ibrahim Al-Hanaki as Director General of National Center for Social Studies and Research (rank 14th) at the Ministry of Social Affairs. 8 - Nasser bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Khara'an as Director General of the Office of the Minister of State (rank 14th) at the Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers. The cabinet was briefed on the annual reports of the Ministry of Health, King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital and the General Organization for Saudi Arabian Airlines for previous fiscal years, as well as the results of the meeting of the Arab League Council at the ministerial level at its session number 141 on 08/05/1435 H and its meeting in its extraordinary session which was held to discuss the developments of the Palestinian cause on 12/05/1435 H. The cabinet took note of the contents of the annual reports and the results of the meetings referred to and made directives on them. The Cabinet's General Secretariat will submit the decisions of the cabinet to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his directives in this regard.
