NEOM – The Council of Ministers on Tuesday reaffirmed its keenness on strengthening international cooperation in the field of combatting money laundering and financing of terrorism. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chaired the weekly virtual session of the Cabinet. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majed Al-Qasabi said the Cabinet emphasized the Kingdom's speech at the special meeting of the United Nations on "Terrorist-financing threats and trends and the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2462." He said that the Cabinet underscored its interest in preventing the provision of any form of support to entities and persons involved in money laundering, terror funding and similar acts. Al-Qasabi said the Cabinet also reviewed the outcome of the meetings of US-GCC Working Group on Iran, chaired by the Kingdom. The group stressed the shared determination to contribute to regional security and stability. While condemning Iran's aggressive policies, the Cabinet pledged its support for international efforts to prevent Iran from possessing nuclear weapons. The group called on Iran to fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and commit to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, ahead of the comprehensive diplomatic efforts of all relevant parties to address the entire issues related to the sustainability of security, safety, and prosperity in the region. The Cabinet also reviewed the outcome of the 18th session of the Joint Defense Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Ministers of Defense. It welcomed the inauguration of the headquarters of the Unified Military Command (UMC) in Riyadh, saying that this would strengthen the joint defense action and further contribute to the security and stability of the region. The Council hailed the agreement reached between parties involved in the transitional phase in Sudan on all tasks of the next phase, which includes restoring transitional institutions and holding elections on time, while reiterating the Kingdom's position that supports everything that would achieve peace and maintain security, stability and development in Sudan. Referring to the decisions of the Cabinet, Al-Qasabi said, it approved the guidance model of the extradition convention between the Saudi government and the governments of other countries. It authorized Minister of Interior or his representative to hold talks with other countries regarding a draft convention on extradition with the governments of other countries, before referring the final signed copy to complete the formal procedures. The Cabinet authorized Minister of Communications and Information Technology or his representative to hold talks with the Indian side on a draft memorandum of cooperation between the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology regarding cooperation in the field of digitization and electronic manufacturing, before referring the final signed copy to complete the formal procedures. The Council also approved a general cooperation agreement with the government of Rwanda.
