Chairing the weekly cabinet session, Crown Prince Sultan briefed the Council of Ministers on contacts and consultations he made recently with state officials and international organizations focusing on bilateral relations, regional issues and international affairs. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Iyad Bin Amin Madani, Minister of Culture and Information, said: “The cabinet gave the go-ahead for the signing of an agreement between the Kingdom and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to enforce guarantees ‘issue within the spheres of Nuclear Non-proliferation (NPT).'” The NPT was signed in Vienna in 2005. The Council also reviewed a request from the National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development (NCWCD) for amending a law dealing with the trading of species threatened with extinction. The amended article stated that “In coordination with the Minister of Interior, the commission will take over the responsibility of inspection and monitoring violations defined by this law and the Board of Directors should issue a decision naming the inspectors and specialists who will be assigned the task of inspections and monitoring. Madani also said the council was briefed on developments in the Arab world including the recent events in Mauritania and mounting violence in Somalia. The council members said the best way to resolve conflicts among tribal factions in any Arab country would be through working together to reach a solution which would benefit national interests. The council also emphasized the importance of supporting Arab cooperation institutions in finding solutions or intervening in these conflicts. An agreement will be drafted by the Interior Minister regarding the repatriation of immigrant Iraqis arrested in Saudi Arabia. The cabinet also reviewed a follow-up report submitted by the Ministry of Economics and Planning on the progress made in municipal projects being carried out by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. The number of the projects being carried out in different parts of the Kingdom this year has reached 1,501.
