The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday afternoon. At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud expressed his pain and Saudi people and Islamic and Arab nations over the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, praying to Allah Almighty to bestow mercy and forgiveness upon his soul and grant him the best rewards for his merits including the expansion of the Two Holy Mosques, the reconstruction of mosques, the dissemination of the Holy Quran, the blessed efforts in the service of Islam, the glory of Muslims, and the prominent role in support for the issues of the right and justice at regional, Arab and international arenas. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud said, 'We and the whole world have lost a unique leader who dedicated his life to achieve overall prosperity for his country and its people, building of edifices of science, economics and knowledge, the achievement of the right and the support for the oppressed, as well as brave and effective contribution to the consolidation of peace, security and stability throughout the world'. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz emphasized that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not keep away from the approach established by late King Founder Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud and followed by his sons of late kings in adhering to the religion and the Prophetic Sunnah and realizing its enormous responsibilities as the land of revelation, the launch of the message, the cradle of Arabism, and one of the most influential countries at various levels. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stressed that the orientations and policies of the Kingdom at Arab, Islamic and international arenas are the continuous and constant approach. The King said, آ«We intend to continue to work hard for the service of Islam and to achieve all the best for our loyal and noble people and support Arab and Islamic issues, and contribute to the consolidation of international peace and security and global economic growth and we pray to Allah Almighty to help us to shoulder the responsibility and perform the trust as He loves and pleases.' The King expressed deep gratitude and appreciation to leaders and delegations of Arab, Islamic and friendly countries for their sincere feelings and their stand by the side of the Kingdom in this great loss and their sincere condolences which reflected their feelings toward the Kingdom and its leadership and people. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud commended the nobility of the Saudi people who are united around their leadership, and stressed inherent cohesion in its true forms and meanings, especially in difficulties and calamities, stressing that a people with these noble qualities deserves all respect and appreciation and achievement of all their aspirations of progress, prosperity and promising future. The Minister of Culture and Information said that the members of the Council of Ministers underlined the two comprehensive statements by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, on Friday, 04.04.1436 H. (on the day of allegiance-pledge) and their highly important contents and extended condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince, Deputy Crown Prince, the royal family, the Saudi people and the nation as a whole on the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques again welcomed, on behalf of the Cabinet, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz, as Crown Prince and Deputy Premier, and Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, as Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Interior as well as the new Ministers, wishing them every success, and expressing his deep thanks and appreciation to the former Ministers for their blessed efforts. The King directed the Ministers to intensify their efforts and put the interests of the nation and its citizens in the forefront of their priorities and to continue to work towards their greater aspirations by meeting their different needs and requirements with speed and flexibility of achievement. Then, the King briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his talks with President Barack Obama of the United States of America, which dealt with bilateral relations between the two countries and their continuation to be strengthened and developed in all fields, for the support of the common interests of the two countries and their peoples, and reviewed a number of economic, regional and international issues, in addition to his meeting with King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said that the Cabinet was briefed on topics listed on its agenda, including issues which Majlis Al-Shura took part in their study and on the outcome of the Cabinet's Experts Bureau and concluded the following: First: After reviewing the transaction submitted by the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution (BIPP), the Cabinet approved the amendment of a number of articles of the BIPP's regulation, based on the wording attached with the decision. A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose. Second: The Council of Ministers stressed that the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to take what is necessary to license buildings - which are licensed to house pilgrims - to be used to house Umrah performers and visitors provided that they have municipal and civil defense requirements and a minimum of hotel operating requirements approved by the commission so as to increase the capacity and encourage investment of those buildings. Third: The Cabinet approved the Ministry of Finance's lending of hotel and tourism projects, according to controls it lays down, provided that these controls shall limit lending to projects that are established in less developed cities and provinces or in the new tourist destinations, and that the maximum limit of the loan shall be equivalent to (50%) of the estimated cost approved by the Ministry of Finance for the entire project and not exceeding one hundred million riyals. Fourth: The Council of Ministers decided to approve an agreement on cooperation in the field of Municipal Affairs between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, signed in Riyadh on 25/04/1435 AH. The main objectives of this agreement are: 1- To organize visits between the two countries for the exchange of knowledge in the field of Municipal Affairs and looking at the reality of the services provided to the society. 2- To facilitate the exchange of experiences between the municipal councils in respect of administrative, technical, technological, Municipal Affairs and elections experiences. 3- Exchange of expertise and experiences with respect to the urban and regional organization and planning, land use and tackling of informal construction. Fifth: The Cabinet approved the final accounts of Saudi Credit and Savings Bank and Public Pension Agency for the fiscal year (2012/2013). Sixth: The Cabinet approved the appointments to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary), as follows: 1. Appointing Hindi bin Naif bin Humaid to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2. Appointing Saad bin Saleh bin Ibrahim Al-Saleh to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 3. Appointing Essam bin Abdulaziz bin Saad Al-Muhanna to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 4. Appointing Majed bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Dreis to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 5. Appointing Dr. Adel bin Abdulmohsen bin Ali Ba-Basil to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Cabinet was also briefed on annual reports of the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources; Ministry of Agriculture and Electricity and Co-Generation Regulatory Authority for the fiscal year (2012/2013). The Cabinet issued its directives in this regard.
