The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Tuesday afternoon. At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on the results of his meetings with the new High Commissioner for the United Nations Forum of the Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Moratinos, and British Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond. The King welcomed pilgrims who started arriving in the Kingdom to perform the fifth pillar of Islam, praying to Allah Almighty to help them perform and accept their Hajj rituals, directing various governmental and civil sectors to facilitate performance of Hajj rituals for all pilgrims, provide security, stability and tranquility for them, and improve services being provided at land, sea and air ports and in various facilities on the routes of their journey to the Two Holy Mosques and holy sites, as it is usual every year since the founding of the Kingdom and carrying out this great honor to serve all pilgrims. Minister of Media Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet renewed its call to pilgrims to devote all times to perform Hajj rituals, take care of their brothers and the privacy of the holy sites and their spirituality, keep away from everything that disturbs Hajj and its tranquility by raising any political or doctrinal slogans, and that such actions will not be accepted in any way, all necessary measures will be taken to prevent them, and regulations will be applied against anyone who perpetrates this. The Cabinet praised the progress being made by Hajj services every year, commending in this regard Makkah Road Initiative, which is one of the initiatives being implemented within the National Transformation Programs 2020 to achieve the Kingdom's vision 2030 to improve the quality of services being provided for pilgrims, facilitate the performance of their rituals, and save times and efforts for pilgrims in a number of countries. The Minister said that the Cabinet discussed a number of issues and latest developments at the international arena, commending the agreement during OPEC and OPEC+ meetings to extend the production reduction agreement until the end of the first quarter of 2020, which will contribute to the stability of oil markets. The Cabinet also commended the agreement on the draft charter of cooperation between countries which would establish a sustainable cooperation framework aiming at long-term balance and stability of markets for the interests of producers, consumers and the global economy. --More 16:15 LOCAL TIME 13:15 GMT 0011 www.spa.gov.sa/1943123
