The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh today. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet addressed the recent talks that took place between officials from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and their counterparts in a number of countries, with the aim of developing mutual relations, strengthening cooperation and advancing it to new heights in all fields. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of issues and developments in various arenas, in addition to the international efforts being exerted towards them in order to maintain the region's security, peace, stability, development and prosperity. The Cabinet reiterated the content of the Kingdom's speech delivered at the annual ambassadorial-level briefing for member states of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, where Saudi Arabia stressed firm commitment and keen interest in combating terrorism, as well as its strong engagement with the United Nations, based on the Kingdom's continuous and pioneering partnership with the global efforts to combat terrorism. The Cabinet considered the outcomes of the global technical conference LEAP22, held in Riyadh, including the launch of initiatives and investments exceeding USD 6.4 billion, as an embodiment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's continuous efforts in advancing the growth of the digital economy to achieve progress and interest of the whole world and promote prosperity in the Middle East and North Africa region. The Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions: First: Authorizing the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Macedonian side regarding a memorandum of understanding in the Islamic affairs between the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Higher Islamic Presidency in the Republic of North Macedonia, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Second: Authorizing the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture who is also Chairman of the National Center of Meteorology – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Ukrainian side regarding a memorandum of understanding between the National Center of Meteorology in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center affiliated with the Government Emergency Service in Ukraine in the meteorological field, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Third: Authorizing the Minister of Investment – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Thai side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Thailand to cooperate in the field of stimulating direct investments, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fourth: Authorizing the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Chad side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation on mining between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Chad, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fifth: Approving a cooperation memorandum in the intellectual property fields between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the National Institute of Industrial Property in the French Republic. Sixth: Amending item (Fifth) of the bylaw of commissions of zones and cities development, issued under a Cabinet decision No. 475 on 7/9/1439 Hijri to become as mentioned in the decision. Seventh: The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority has the right to offer financial support to targeted institutions on the e-billing list whose annual revenues do not exceed SAR 3,000,000. Eighth: Approving the regulation of the National Council for Vocational Safety and Health. The Cabinet also reviewed several general subjects mentioned on its agenda, including the annual report for the National Competitiveness Center, where the Cabinet took necessary procedures regarding these issues.
