The Council of Ministers chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, Monday resolved to continue sending aid to flood-stricken Pakistan. “The Kingdom will spare no effort in supporting the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to cope with the damage from flooding,” Minister of Information and Culture Dr. Abdul Aziz Khoja told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the Cabinet's session. As of August 19 the Kingdom had pledged $106 million (84 million euros) in aid to Pakistan, making it one of the leading suppliers of relief funds after the floods, which have killed 1,500 people and affected up to 20 million nationwide in the country's worst ever natural disaster. On Monday, three large Saudi military transport planes delivered a team of Saudi rescue workers from the national and border guards, and relief equipment that included boats and generators to Karachi to help with rescue operations. Cabinet backs M-E peace talks The Cabinet also affirmed its support of direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis to be held in Washington on Sept.2. Khoja said that Cabinet welcomed the International Quartet's statement on the resumption of the talks. Cabinet also welcomed the Palestine Liberation Organization's decision to take part in the negotiations. The statement came a day after King Abdullah discussed the peace plans with visiting King Abdullah II of Jordan. On Friday, the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators – the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and United States – said the talks on a treaty establishing an independent Palestinian state could be wrapped up in one year. Saudi Arabia has played a key role in rallying regional support for its Arab land-for-peace initiative, based on a two-state solution with east Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital. The Kingdom has at the same time also supported Palestinian resistance to direct talks unless Israel halts its Jewish settlement building in the occupied West Bank. The Cabinet reiterated its call for the Iraqi people to unify and form a reconciliatory government that “achieves their aspirations in reaching a unified, independent and stable country”. On domestic matters, Khoja said the Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Doha on Feb. 22, 2010. The Cabinet also approved a scientific and educational MoU between the Ministry of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of National Education and Higher Education, Framework Formation and Scientific Study of the Kingdom of Morocco signed in Riyadh on Jan. 5, 2010.
