The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday afternoon. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques began his speech to the Cabinet by praying to Allah Almighty to forgive all the victims of the fall of one of the cranes in the Grand Holy Mosque and bless their souls, saying ' We ask Allah Almighty to grant the good conclusion for the deceased pilgrims and visitors who came to this holy place heading toward Allah Almighty and the Grand Holy Mosque to perform Hajj rituals. We thank the leaders of sisterly countries, and all those who have expressed their condolences on this great loss, offer to them and the families the deceased our sincere condolences, wish the injured people a speedy recovery, and direct all service sectors relating to pilgrims to take care of the injured people and help them to perform Hajj rituals with their Muslim brothers''. The Cabinet offered its condolences to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince, the Deputy Crown Prince, the Islamic nation and the families of the deceased people, praying to Allah Almighty to accept them as martyrs and reside them in paradise, wishing the injured people a quick recovery and the completion of their Hajj rituals. The Cabinet congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques on the success of his official visit to the United States of America, its results, talks and signing of agreements, and in this context, the King expressed his deep thanks to the President of the United States of America Barack Obama for the warm reception and generous hospitality accorded to them, re-emphasizing that the talks he held with the president, especially with regard to the new strategic partnership of the 21st century between the two countries will contribute to deepening and strengthening relations and enhancing the bonds of mutual cooperation for the interest of the two friendly countries and their peoples. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Council briefed the Cabinet on the results of his talks with President Joko Widodo of the Republic of Indonesia, commending deep relations between the two sisterly countries and their keenness on enhancing them in various fields. In his statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi made clear that the Cabinet reviewed the plans and preparations by the concerned government and private sectors in the service of pilgrims who flocked to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from all over the world and that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed all sectors concerning with the service of pilgrims to redouble their efforts to provide the best services and comprehensive care for their comfort to perform Hajj rituals conveniently and easily and exploit all potentialities to maintain their safety. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said that one of the blessings that Allah honored this country is to serve pilgrims, visitors and the service of the Two Holy Mosques; and this is a duty and an honor of which we are proud since the unification of the Kingdom and we will continue, with Allah willing, proceeding in the performance of this message and exerting all efforts to provide the highest quality of services to pilgrims, praying for the best reward from Allah Almighty. The Minister said that the Cabinet discussed the false and misleading accusations raised against the Kingdom's efforts on Syrian refugees and reaffirmed that the Kingdom will always remain at the forefront of countries supporting the brotherly Syrian people and following up carefully their human sufferings, and will not accept any overbidding in this matter or questioning its positions and stressed, in this regard, the measures taken by the Kingdom since the start of the Syrian crisis in terms of helping the Syrian brothers has received since the crisis erupted nearly two million and a half million Syrian citizens in the Kingdom and support and care for millions of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries to their homeland. Then, the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on the latest developments on Arab, regional and international arenas, and expressed its condemnation of the terrorist attack which targeted security men in Al-Khamis Police Center in the Kingdom of Bahrain, stressing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabias stand by and support for the Kingdom of Bahrain in all its actions to address these terrorist acts. The Council of Ministers discussed the efforts made by the coalition forces in the framework of the renewal of hope operation in the Republic of Yemen, expressing its pride of what being exerted by the brave and courageous soldiers of the Kingdom to repel the vicious aggression on the Republic of Yemen by the rebels and their supporters, commending various efforts undertaken by the coalition forces in the operation, asking Allah Almighty to bestow forgiveness and mercy on all those who were martyred in the field of honor of the forces of the Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and give their parents and their families patience and fortitude, wishing the injured a speedy recovery, and crowning with full success the heroes of the coalition forces to defeat the aggressors and restore legitimacy to the Republic of Yemen and maintain its security and stability. The Council of Ministers expressed its strong condemnation and denunciation of Israeli occupation authorities' storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque, the violation of its sanctity and the attack on the worshipers, calling for an end to these crimes and repeated violations by the occupation authorities and settlers of the first Qiblah and ascending site of the last Messenger. The Council also called for an end to Israeli settlement building and eliminating the established ones, stressing that those settlements are the most dangerous issues that threat the peace process in the region, and appealed to the international community to fulfill its responsibilities and take the necessary measures to protect the Palestinian people from the Israeli aggressive actions which are provocative to the feelings of all Muslims and Arabs . The Cabinet welcomed the United Nations General Assembly's decision to raise the flag of the State of Palestine as an observer state on the headquarters of the United Nations in New York, Geneva, and Vienna, and considered it as an additional diplomatic achievement and a step for the full membership of the state of Palestine in the United Nations. The Council of Ministers reviewed the decisions of the session 144th of the Council of the Arab League, and its contents of firm positions of the Arab countries towards various issues of concern to the Arab nation. Dr. Adel bin Zaid Al-Toraifi said the Cabinet was briefed on the agenda, some of which were reviewed by the Shura Council. The Cabinet decided the following: First: The Cabinet approved that Qatar National bank opens a branch in the Kingdom according banking regulations and instruction enforced in the Kingdom. The bank was direct to coordinate with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency to finalize the routine procedure. Second: The Cabinet considered the measures taken by the Ministry of Hajj to control granting Umrah Service agencies licenses, renewals and for those support agencies as though complementary to the Umrah and visits service organizations. Third: The Cabinet approved the appointment of Dr. Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Shareef as representative of the Ministry of Health to the Cooperative Health Insurance Council. Fourth: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the field of communications and information technology between the Communications and Information Technology Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Post Control and Communication and Telecommunication Authority of the Popular Democratic Algerian Republic which was signed in Riyadh on 11/2/1436 H. Fifth: After reviewing a report submitted by the Minister of State and Cabinet Member for Shoura Council Affairs, and after having considered the Shura Council resolution No. (79/40) dated 01/08/1436 H., the Cabinet approved enforcing the penalties stated in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's flag system, issued upon the Royal Decree No. (M / 3) dated 10/2/1393H, when the flag of the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States is discussed. In this regard, a royal decree is being authored. Sixth: The Cabinet approved a number of appointments in the 15th and 14th ranks as follows: 1- Fawzi bin Olayan bin Mofarih Alsaud was appointed as projects consultant in the 15th rank at the Saudi Development Fund. 2- Mosaâ€TMad bin Abdullah bin Abdullah Al Humaidan was appointed as economic expert in the 15th rank at the Ministry of Economy and Planning. 3- Eng Abdulaziz bin Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Abdul Jabbar was appointed as transport affairs consultant in the 15th rank at the Ministry of Transport. 4- Eng Ibrahim bin Mohammed bin Othman Alsently was appointed as Director General of Roads and Transport Management Department in Riyadh Region in the 14th rank at the Ministry of Transport. 5- Eng Abdulrahman bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Hadlaq was appointed as Chief of Yanbu Province Municipality in the 14th rank at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. 6- Shabab bin Nasser bin Olayan AL Subaie was appointed as Director General of the Legal Department in the 14th rank at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs. 7- Mohammed bin Ibrahim bin Eid Al-Ali was appointed as Director General of the Ministry of Civil Service branch in Asir in the 14th rank. The Cabinet was briefed on annual reports separately submitted by the Ministry of Civil Service, the Real Estate Development Fund and the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flour Mills, for the fiscal year 1434/1435 H., The Council has taken note of what they contain and issued relevant instructions.
