The Council of Ministers said Monday that the Madrid Declaration issued at the conclusion of last week's world interfaith Conference on Dialogue has the content to help peoples the world over arrive at common understanding and peaceful coexistence. A Cabinet statement said the conference initiated by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has received worldwide praise for bringing to the table the noble principles and morals at the core of all religions, and which bind peoples together. HRH Crown Prince Sultan who chaired the Cabinet session said King Abdullah' inaugural speech, in which he had stressed that Islam is a religion of moderation and tolerance and that its message calls for constructive dialogue among the followers of all religions, has become an official document of the conference. “It promises the opening of a new page for mankind, in which concord replaces conflict,” the Crown Prince said. King Abdullah had said in his speech that it was God's will that people should differ in their faiths and that man had the ability to overcome hatred with love, and extremism with tolerance. On other matters, the Council discussed the recent Arab Foreign Ministers' meeting in Cairo pertaining to the International Criminal Court's decision against Sudan, voiced support for Sudan, and rejected any attempt to politicize or exploit the principles of international justice so as to encroach upon a country's sovereignty. The Cabinet also approved the Protocol Concerning the Protection of the Environment from Land-Based Activities in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which was signed in Jeddah in 2005. Additionally, the Cabinet approved the Protocol for the Preservation of Biodiversity and Establishment of a Network of Protected Regions along the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. Also approved was a Supreme Economic Council recommendation endorsing distribution and marketing of gas and its derivatives in the Kingdom by the Gas Company and National Industrialization Company for a period of five years as of May 19, 2008.
