RIYADH: Chairing the weekly Cabinet Monday, Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minster, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, congratulated King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and the Saudi people on his recovery and safe arrival in Morocco where he will complete his recuperation from surgery. Prince Sultan prayed to Allah to bestow good health on King Abdullah and for his safe return to the Kingdom, and further expressed gratitude to King Muhammad VI and the people of Morocco for their warm reception of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet urged the international community and the US to adopt a “comprehensive strategic method to halt all Israeli settlement projects on the occupied lands, which frustrate all efforts to advance peace negotiations”. The Cabinet said that “Israeli malpractices are besieging most towns in the West Bank, making the establishment of any Palestinian state that can survive in the future practically impossible”. Ministers also condemned recent fatal terrorist attacks in Iraq and offered their condolences to the Iraqi leadership and people. Crown Prince Sultan briefed the Cabinet on contacts during the past week including telephone calls to King Abdullah from Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi, Yemeni President Ali Saleh, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, as well as the Crown Prince's reception of the Pakistani Chief of Joint Staff and the British Ambassador to the Kingdom. Ministers reviewed reports on the latest regional and global developments and praised the resolutions of the second Arab Economic Summit held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. The Kingdom is now scheduled to host the third summit in Riyadh. The Cabinet also stressed the importance of the four-day Global Competitiveness Forum which was opened in Riyadh Saturday by Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, on behalf of King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
