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 briefed the Cabinet on his talks with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, and Prince Charles, the Crown Prince of the United Kingdom and the Prince of Wales; the message received from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Republic of Algeria, and the phone call received from King Philip VI of the Kingdom of Spain, and they all dealt with overall regional and international events, bilateral relations between the Kingdom and those brotherly and friendly countries, and ways of enhancing them. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel Zaid Altoraifi said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet reviewed reports on the latest developments and events in the region and the world and commended the efforts of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States and its decisions issued in its extraordinary meeting in Riyadh last Saturday on the situation in the Republic of Yemen. The Cabinet renewed its condemnation and absolute rejection of the Houthi coup, all its consequences, and attempts to impose a fait accompli by force, stressing the importance of supporting the efforts of all Yemeni powers that seek by peaceful means to resume the political process according to the reference the Gulf initiative and its executive mechanism, the outputs of Yemeni national dialogue, and the need to help the brotherly Yemeni people to get out of these serious events to maintain Yemen's security, stability and unity, and the region's security and stability. The Council of Ministers also expressed strong condemnation of the ISIS terrorist organization's criminal act of killing twenty one Coptic Egyptians in the city of Derna, northeast Libya on Sunday, expressing condolences to President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Egyptian government, the families of the victims and the people of Egypt, and welcoming the issuance of United Nations Security Council Resolution No. // 2199 // unanimously last Thursday, under Chapter VII, on draining the sources of terrorist financing, tightening control of the areas under the control of terrorists and suppressing the terrorist organizations' financing sources, stressing that the Kingdom is at the forefront of countries calling for fighting terrorism, renouncing it and criminalizing its supporters. The Minister of Culture and Information said that the council then discussed a number of issues on local affairs including the holding of the Saudi conference on emergency medicine and the 26th international scientific conference on cardiology. The Cabinet commended the conferences' roles in boosting development of health care in the Kingdom, which enjoys support by the state in tandem with the country's comprehensive renaissance in all fields. Dr. Adel Zaid Al-Toraifi said the Council of Ministers considered the topics on its agenda and took the following: First: The Cabinet reviewed a report by the Military Service Council and decided the following: 1- The term 'military forces' shall replace the term 'armed forces' wherever it appears in the officers service regulation, personnel service regulation and the military retirement regulation, as well as in regulations, royal orders and decrees and relevant decisions and regulations except for those whose application is limited to the armed forces in the Ministry of Defense only. 2- Amendment of paragraph (c) of Article (II) of the officers service regulation to read as follows: 'Military forces include all military forces.' 3- The words 'by order of the supreme commander of all military forces' shall replace the words 'by order of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces' wherever it is used in personnel service regulation, regulations, royal orders and decrees, relevant decisions and regulations. Second: After reviewing the report submitted by the Ministry of Interior, and after consideration of Majlis Al-Shura's decision No. (129/69) dated 17/11/2014, the Cabinet approved an agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Spain to cooperate in the areas of security and the fight against crime, signed in Jeddah city on 18/05/2014. A royal decree has been prepared for this purpose. Among the most prominent features of this agreement: 1 - The two parties shall cooperate in the maintenance of security and the fight against all forms of crime, including terrorism-related offenses, funding and support, as well as the fight against smuggling crimes of all kinds. 2 - The two parties shall cooperate - within the framework of the agreement - to provide assistance and information exchange in a number of things, including the research and identification of missing persons or those who are believed to have died, and terrorism and terrorist groups and their organizations. Third: The Cabinet approved the joining of Saudi Authority for Food and Drug to the membership of the National Committee for Tobacco Control, established by the Cabinet's decision No. (46) and the date of 18/02/2007. Fourth: The Cabinet approved the appointment of Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Freih as a member of the Board of Directors of Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) to be the representative of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). Fifth: The Cabinet approved the addition of a representative from the National Committee for Clean Development Mechanism formed under paragraph (1) of the Cabinet's decision No. (208) dated 15/06/2009 to the membership of Environment Council formed under paragraph (2) of clause (First) of the Cabinet's decision No. (22) and 25/01/2009. Sixth: The Cabinet approved the appointments to the posts of (Ambassador) and (Minister Plenipotentiary) at the 15th and 14th ranks as follows: 1. Appointment of Abdullah bin Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Awad to the post of Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2. Appointment of Mohammed bin Abdullah bin Abdul Karim Al-Muajel to the post of (Advisor for Water Affairs) at the Ministry of Water and Electricity at 15th rank. 3. Appointment of Abdullah bin Mudeef bin Dheif Allah Al-Talhi to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 4. Appointment of Ali bin Abdullah bin Omar Ba-Haitham to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 5. Appointment of Mansour bin Awad bin Mohammed Khreishi to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 6. Appointment of Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Nasser bin Rashidan to the post of (Minister Plenipotentiary) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 7. Appointment of Talq bin Faihan bin Bataa Al-Otaibi to the post of (Director of Administrative and Financial Affairs) at the Ministry of Interior at 14th rank. The Cabinet reviewed also the annual report of the General Authority of Civil Aviation for the fiscal year (2012/2013), and issued its directives in this regard.
