Assaf, Minister of Finance, told the Cabinet Monday that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) expressed in recent meetings high expectations for growth in the Saudi economy due to “government support for infrastructure and social projects”. In its weekly meeting, ministers authorized the minister of justice to include points raised by the Cabinet in the draft unified anti-cyber crime law in GCC countries, and approved the Arab Strategy for Water Security in the Arab region, authorizing the minister of water and electricity to sign the relevant text. The water security strategy aims to address the challenges posed by sustainable development and serve as a guideline subject to revision every five years. Chairing the session, King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, briefed the Cabinet on his meeting with Sheikh Muhammad Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and his contact with Fahd Bin Mahmoud Al-Saeed, Deputy Prime Minister for Cabinet Affairs of Oman. In a statement to SP A after the meeting, Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet discussed reports on recent developments in Arab countries and stressed the importance of “dealing with them in such as way as to ensure the security and stability of all Arab countries and their peoples”. Ministers also discussed the extraordinary meeting of GCC foreign ministers in Abu Dhabi with Yemeni government representatives, and praised the response of both the Yemeni government and opposition parties. The Cabinet criticized the “intransigence of the occupying Israeli authorities” and “their continued policy on settlements”, and ministers reiterated the statement by Arab delegations at the UN Security Council saying that the “Israeli acts undermine progress in the peace process”. They called for a revival in the peace process and for Israel to be obliged to “engage seriously with the process”.
