NEOM — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman briefed the Cabinet on his phone calls with US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a virtual session on Tuesday. The world leaders reviewed the G20 efforts under the Saudi presidency to confront the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic at the human as well as economic level. In his talks, King Salman also underlined the need to achieve stability and balance of the oil market which in the interest of the people of the world, global economies, and health systems. He affirmed the Kingdom's keenness to reach a permanent and just solution to the Palestinian cause to bring about peace. At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques shared with the Cabinet the message he sent to Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, emphasizing ways of strengthening fraternal relations between the two countries in various fields. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Majid Al-Qasabi, Acting Minister of Media, stated that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports related to the COVID-19 pandemic locally and internationally; its developments in the preventive and treatment levels; the latest statistics on cases recorded in the Kingdom; and the positive contribution of the measures taken by the concerned authorities to curb the spread of the virus. The reports cited the continuing curve decline in terms of new infections, the increase in the rate of recovery, and the commitment of citizens and residents to precautionary and preventive measures. The Cabinet reviewed a number of issues about the latest developments regionally and internationally, including the G20 foreign ministers' extraordinary virtual meeting under the Saudi presidency, in which the ministers underlined the importance of strengthening international cooperation to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic impacts, raising the level of preparedness for future crises and the importance of opening international borders in line with health measures and national regulations of countries in order to achieve economic prosperity for the G20 countries and people. The Cabinet also discussed the positive indicators recorded for the Saudi economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, with foreign investments in various sectors and economic activities growing by 20 percent in the first quarter, and the recovery of economic activity at the end of the second quarter following the reopening of activities, which confirms the strength of the investment environment in the Kingdom. Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi stated that the Cabinet praised the security efforts in foiling criminal schemes targeting the Kingdom with narcotic substances in coordination and cooperation among the concerned authorities. The Cabinet renewed its strong condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist attack that targeted two security men in Tunisia, expressing the Kingdom's full solidarity with Tunisia in confronting any attempt to target its security and stability, and sincere condolences and sympathies to the government and people.
