The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Alsalam Palace in Jeddah on Monday. At the outset of the meeting, the King briefed the cabinet on the contacts and talks which he held over the previous days with a number of heads of states and their envoys. The talks dealt with bilateral relations and regional and international issues. The Monarch pointed to the continual efforts exerted by the Kingdom for regional security and stability and the enhancement of human development and economic cooperation among the States of the region. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani said that the cabinet was briefed on reports on the progress of the developmental plan, the output of the efforts of the previous period of the current fiscal year budget for 1427/1428H and the pace of executing approved projects from the budget's surplus and increase in the world demand for some commodities, services and materials which have been affected by rates of rising growth of the world economy. In this context, the cabinet affirmed the necessity for continuation of economic plans and financial policies to modernize infrastructures and to meet developmental demands which will be associated with governmental expenditure, enormous and private investments, provision of consumers' needs and follow-up of inflation rates. The cabinet emphasized the importance of the role of the private sector in the economic growth and diversification of consumers' options, and stressed the responsibility of the media and national societies in enlightening consumers in dealing with the market in efficient and well-informed ways. --More
