The Council of Ministers, presided over by Custodian of the Holy Mosques King Salman, here in the Tabuk Region, was briefed on several reports on the latest events and developments at the Arab, regional and international levels on Tuesday afternoon. The Council, while referring to recent Iranian actions, said that Iran's interception of commercial vessels in Gulf waters, including its seizure of a British tanker, violated international law and must be prevented. "Any disruption of the freedom of international maritime traffic is considered a violation of international law and the international community must do what is necessary to reject it and deter such acts," the Council said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). In a statement to SPA, following the Council's meeting, Minister of Media Turki Bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said that at the outset the Council of Ministers reviewed subjects related to services provided to pilgrims to perform their Haj rites with ease. The Council discussed the readiness of the government and private sectors related to serving the pilgrims visiting the Two Holy Mosques. In this connection, the Council considered the directive by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to host thousands of pilgrims from different parts of the world every year within the Haj Program for Guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques as a manifestation of the King's constant keenness and care for Muslims' interests and in order to enhance Islamic solidarity. Some 52,000 male and female pilgrims from different countries have benefited from the Haj Program for Guests of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques since the beginning of the year 1417H until this year 1440H. The Council strongly condemned the Israeli occupation authorities for demolishing scores of homes in Wadi Al-Homs (Homs Valley) Area in Sur Baher town, east of Jerusalem, which were sheltering hundreds of Palestinian nationals, while urging world powers to "stop this aggression". It called on the international community to intervene so as to stop this aggression and serious escalation that is targeting the Palestinians' very existence, including forced migration of the Palestinians from Jerusalem City (Al-Quds) and the attempt to change the city's legal nature and demographic structure. The Council stressed that the Israeli practices contradict international and humanitarian laws and the related agreements. The Council said that the inauguration of a number of water projects in Makkah and the holy sites worth SR3.1 billion simultaneously with the Haj season this year 1440H, under the auspices of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, comes within the care, attention and keenness of the wise leadership to provide all the means for the pilgrims' comfort. The Council discussed several subjects on the local arena. In this regard, it stressed that the King Abdullah International Parks Project in Riyadh, whose contract worth a total of SR1.62 billion has been awarded, is considered to be one of the quality projects in Riyadh city that is in tandem with the program for improving the quality of life, one of the programs of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. In this regard, King Salman has issued directives to complete the Project, considering it to be one whole integrated project that should not be divided into stages, in line with what was presented by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier, minister of defense and president of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs (CEDA), in order to put the project back on track and provide it with all its requirements so that it is set up according to the studies and designs prepared by Riyadh Mayoralty. The Council valued the leadership's care and big support for the sports and youth sector. It reaffirmed that the special care and attention of the Crown Prince and president of the CEDA and his vision in supporting sports in general and sports clubs in particular. The Council said that these would contribute to spreading the various games and creating financial and administrative governance. In turn, these will enable the clubs to attract investments. The Council revealed the announcement of the strategy for supporting clubs. It said distributing SR2.5 billion among the clubs would encourage them to work according to a general plan for an effective governance system that will contribute to the sustainability of growth and development of sports and at administrative levels. The Council expressed its appreciation for the statement made by the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Article IV consultations of the Kingdom, praising the good progress made by the Kingdom in implementing financial, economic, social and structural reforms that have begun to yield results and are reflected on the economic performance of the Kingdom. The Cabinet affirmed that the government is working to achieve financial and economic objectives in accordance with Vision 2030, which maintains financial stability, achieves high rates of economic growth, supports economic diversification and raises the quality of life. The Cabinet approved the accession of the Saudi Center for Accreditation to the International Forum for Institutions of Halal Accreditation. The Council approved the Kingdom's subscription in the shares allocated to it in accordance with the resolutions of the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development No. 663 and No. 664 regarding general increase and selective increase. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Education to amend the approved student assessment regulations approved by the Supreme Committee for Education Policy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia No. (53/S/P), dated 01/03/1426H. — SPA
