The Cabinet meeting, presided over by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, here on Monday, stressed the importance of coordinating and integrating efforts among Arab countries to face the swine flu epidemic. After reviewing the results of the emergency meeting of executive bureau of the Council of Arab Health Ministers here last week, the Cabinet approved the measures contained in the “Riyadh Declaration” issued after the meeting to tackle the pandemic. Dr. Abdul Aziz Al-Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said King Abdullah briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of the 11th consultation meeting of the GCC leaders which was held here on Tuesday. The meeting discussed many important issues for the benefit of the GCC countries and its joint action. These issues included the railways network among the GCC countries and activation of the role of the private sector in developing the GCC work in the fields of trade and economy. King Abdullah also briefed the Cabinet on the discussions, consultations, meetings and contacts he held over the past few days with various leaders and their envoys. During the past days, the King got messages from Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, President of UAE, and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. The King also received telephone calls from Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The Cabinet listened to a report by the foreign minister on the emergency meeting of the Arab League in Cairo. The meeting discussed many issues concerning the Palestinian cause and reasserted in its final statement that the achievement of the lasting and comprehensive solution of the Palestinian cause and the ending of the Arab-Israeli conflict on all tracks are the fundamental basis for achieving regional security and stability in the region as well as the desired progress in the other regional issues. On domestic issues, the Cabinet authorized the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior – or his deputy – to discuss with Afghan and Argentinian sides draft cooperation agreements on extradition of criminal suspects between the two countries. The Cabinet authorized the foreign minister – or his deputy – to sign a headquarters draft agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. It also endorsed the charter of the OIC approved at the 11th Islamic summit conference held in Dakar last year. The Cabinet approved agreements between Saudi Arabia and Greece and Ghana on avoiding tax duplication and preventing tax evasion concerning taxes on income and capital. Several appointments were also approved by the Cabinet.
