Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday afternoon. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the success of his benevolent initiative and endeavors culminated by the elimination of what had tainted relations between the two sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar in various fields and at all levels, also congratulating the Custodian of Two Holy Mosques on his keenness on unifying the ranks and strengthening the bonds of brotherhood between the sisterly countries. The Cabinet welcomed in this regard the response of the Arab Republic of Egypt and the State of Qatar to the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in which he called on the two countries to strengthen ties and eliminate the reason for stirring conflict and discord between them, commending the appreciation of the two sisterly countries to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. The Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Khudhairi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on his talks with the Prime Minister of Republic of Macedonia Nikola Gruevski during which they reviewed the aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries and ways of their development in various fields. Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior, briefed the Cabinet on the ongoing efforts of the security forces to deal with terrorist acts and take regulatory procedures against all those who plan to spoil and make chaos. The Cabinet commended in this regard the great achievements of security authorities and the cooperation of the people of the region, which had an impact on the speed of detection of those who stood behind the terrorist incident, which occurred in the town of Al-Awwamiyyah on Sunday evening 22/02/1436 AH, stressing that everyone tempts to tamper with the security of the homeland and citizens will be brought to justice. The council of ministers welcomed the statement issued at the conclusion of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention to protect civilians and its emphasis on the need to implement the convention and international law in the occupied Palestinian territories and the importance of it to reach a just and lasting peace, reiterating the Kingdom's assertion that abiding by the rules of international legitimacy and fulfilling pledges are the best way to achieve security and stability. The Council of Ministers condemned the terrorist attack which targeted a school in northwest Pakistan and the resulting casualties and injuries considering it an act of terrorism and an offense that is incompatible with the values and principles that came in the divine laws which banned unlawful killings, and expressing heartfelt condolences and sincere sympathy to the Republic of Pakistan government and people and to the families of the victims and wishes of speedy recovery to the injured. The minister said that the cabinet discussed a number of topics on local affairs and reviewed what is going on in the petroleum and international market of incidental problems, reiterating that the economy and industry of the Kingdom are capable of bearing temporary fluctuations in oil income and considering them as normal, and it emphasizes that what it is doing will achieve the best results for the Kingdom, and it is continuing in its balanced policy in a strong and firmly manner relying on Allah Almighty and then the wise leadership, strong economy and strong global petroleum industry. Dr. Al-Khudhairi said that, based on royal instructions, the Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues, including those in which Majlis Al-Shura has conducted relevant studies and reviews, as well as the results reached by the Cabinet's Experts Bureau and the General Committee and its sub-committee on the issue. In this regard, the Cabinet authorized the minister of foreign affairs or his deputy to discuss with the Djiboutian side a draft memorandum of understanding on political bilateral consultations between the ministry of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ministry of foreign affairs of the Republic of Djibouti, establish a political consultative committee, sign the MOU and forward the final version to complete legal procedure. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on political consultation between the ministry of foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the federal foreign ministry and foreign trade, cooperation and development of the Kingdom of Belgium which was signed in Riyadh on 15/5/1435 H. Third: The cabinet approved the appointment of the following as members of the board of directors of Electricity and Cogeneration Authority for a period of three years from the date of 09/05/1436 AH, they are: 1- Yusuf bin Abdul Sattar Maimani 2- Engineer Abdullah bin Saeed Alambti 3- Dr. Ihsan bin Ali Bohlaiqah 4- Othman bin Hamad Khwaiter The cabinet also approved the renewal of the membership of Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Almataz in the authority's board of directors for a period of three years from the date of 16/6/1436 AH. Fourth: After review of the report by Minister of Finance, the Council of Ministers agreed on the following: 1- Permission to continue applying the decision of the Minister of Finance No. (393) dated 06/08/1370 AH on the collecting of zakat (Alms) and its amendments during the period from the date of entry into force of the Royal Decree No. (17/2/28/577) dated on 14/03/1376 AH until the issuance of the required executive decisions by the Minister of Finance. 2- The Minister of Finance shall issue the necessary decisions to implement the Royal Decree No. (M / 40) dated on 02/07/1405 H providing for the collection of full Zakat from all companies, institutions and other individuals who are subject to zakat, including what is related to formed committees and determining times for the appeal of decisions and necessary requirements to do so, especially paying the bank guarantee. The Cabinet approved establishing specialized national associations in consumer-protection-related sectors who are known to be having financially-independent legal personalities provided that the ministry of commerce and industry will undertake licensing for those associations and strictly following up their performance in cooperation with pertinent governmental bodies. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology and China's National Administration for Space dealing with cooperation in the field of space sciences and technologies which was signed in Beijing on 13/5/1435 H. The above-mentioned MOU tackles aspects of cooperation in a number of fields, including designing, developing and manufacturing satellites for scientific experiment tests, earth and communications remote monitoring, satellite launching services and space sciences and exploration. Intellectual ownership rights resulting from cooperation activities of this MOU will be preserved for the two sides and protected by the two countries' systems and laws. The Cabinet approved the final accounts of King Fahd Causeway Foundation for the fiscal year 1434 / 1435 H. The meeting was also briefed on annual reports submitted by each of the ministry of Hajj, Saudi Wildlife Commission, and the General Presidency for the Grand Mosque and the Prophet's Mosque affairs for two previous fiscal years and issued the relevant instructions. The Secretariat General of the Council of Ministers will forward the outcomes of today's Cabinet session to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to issue His royal directives in this regard.
