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 King briefed the Cabinet on his meetings and consultations with the leaders and heads of delegations of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, the President of the Republic of Uganda, and members of the Syrian opposition, in addition to the telephone call received from the French President. The Cabinet welcomed Riyadh declaration and the final statement of the Supreme Council of Gulf Cooperation Council for Arab Gulf States in its 36th session held in Riyadh under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and its decisions including various fields that embody blocks in the edifice of GCC accomplishments aiming at achieving the aspirations of the GCC peoples. The Cabinet appreciated the vision of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques that the GCC states exert efforts for achieving concrete results to enhance the march of cooperation and interdependence among them, upgrade the Council's international status, create an economic and social environment to promote citizens' prosperity, and work according to an effective foreign policy that makes the GCC states avoid regional conflicts, helps to restore security and stability to neighboring countries, and completes what they started in building a common defensive and security system for protecting the interests and achievements of the Council's states and their peoples. The Cabinet reviewed the Arab and international commending of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the meeting of the Syrian opposition with all its strata and components in support from the Kingdom for finding a political solution that ensures the unity of Syrian territories in accordance with the decisions of Geneva 1 and emanating from the Kingdom's keenness to achieve security, stability and justice in Syria and to return safe and stable. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi said in his statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet reviewed the latest developments in the region and the world and the results of regional and international meetings and consultations towards them, stressing in this context the Kingdom's keenness on the importance of unifying all regional and international efforts to cope with the deteriorating situations in the Middle East being witnessing an unprecedented stage of instability, violence and the spread of the phenomenon of terrorism; especially from some of the organizations that claim Islam, and Islam is a religion of peace and respect for human life and dignity. The Cabinet stressed what had been confirmed by the Kingdom on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States in front of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly of the United Nations on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the World Summit for Social Development that the GCC member states initiated since the adoption of the 1995 Social Development Summit to develop necessary policies and plans to ensure the social development which aims to build a prosperous society to meet the needs of this generation and future generations. They also continued the development of national strategies, building effective institutions and supporting civil society organizations to secure levels of economic, social and human development in which all participate efficiently and effectively. The Minister said that the Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom's call during the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (21st session) in Paris to adopt and approve emissions cut policies that do not bias against any source of energy, and to look at these sources as complementary - not substitutes - for each other in a way contributes to achieving sustainable development for all, where the Kingdom renewed, during the meeting which approved Paris agreement on climate, its commitment to improving energy efficiency within its recognition of the importance of reducing emissions as a means to combat climate change and support sustainable development programs. The Cabinet commended the announcement by the command of the coalition to support the legitimacy in Yemen over purging Greater Hanish Island of Houthi militias, to reinstate the legitimate government authority towards the stability of Yemen as the main goal. The Cabinet reconfirmed the Kingdom's condemnation of terrorist acts with all their various motives and forms, including the attack carried out by gunmen on Kandahar airport in southern Afghanistan, as well as the suicide attack in north of Cameroon, which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of civilians. On domestic affairs, the Cabinet appreciated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' patronage of King Khalid Award Winners Honoring Ceremony, at its 5th session and its three branches in Riyadh. The Cabinet also congratulated the male and female winners of the municipal elections in their 3rd session, their success and implementation on the day of the ballot, which took place in (1296) polling stations in various regions of the Kingdom with the participation of (542,702) male and female voters during which up to (2106) male and female candidates won the membership of the municipal councils, expressing thanks to all government agencies and committees that participated in preparation of the electoral process. The cabinet was briefed on the works and outcomes of the conferences and forums held in the Kingdom during the last week. The Cabinet discussed the issues on its agenda, including some which were studied by the Shura Council and was briefed on the outcomes of each of the Cabinet's General Committee and the Experts Bureau. Accordingly, the Cabinet concluded the following: First: The cabinet authorized the Minister of Defense - or his deputy - to discuss and sign with Mali's side a draft agreement in the military field between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Mali. Second: The cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance - or his deputy - to sign a draft agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Argentina in the field of cooperation and mutual help in the customs affairs. Third: The cabinet authorized the Minister of Water and Electricity - or his deputy - to discuss and sign with the Switzerland's side a draft memorandum of understanding between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Switzerland in the field of water and electricity. Fourth: The cabinet authorized the Minister of Civil Service - or his deputy - to discuss and sign with the American side a draft memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of Civil Service of the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Office of Personnel Management of the government of United States of America. Fifth: The cabinet authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs - or his deputy - to discuss and sign with the Cypriot side a draft memorandum of cooperation in the field of political consultations between the Foreign Affairs Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Foreign Ministry of Cyprus. Sixth: The cabinet approved an agreement of organization of transport of goods by land road among the Arab countries with installation of the Kingdom's reservation: 'the provisions in this convention will be applied without prejudice to the procedures and provisions of the (law) Common Customs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on all incoming, outgoing and transit goods.' Seventh: The cabinet approved arrangements for individual cases of employees - those applicable to the same rules - who subject to the Civil Service's system. Eighth: The cabinet approved an amendment of organization of the Public Education Assessment Commission. The Board of Directors is headed by the president who shall be appointed by the Premier and membership of the governor of the commission, representatives of the Ministry of Education and representatives of: Ministry of Labor, National Authority for Assessment and Accreditation, National Center for Measurement and Evaluation in Public Education, General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training, Saudi Society for Educational and Psychological Sciences, seven experts in the field of the commission's activities and a representative from the private sector. The Cabinet was briefed on annual report of the Ministry of Transport for the fiscal year (1434 / 1435H). The Cabinet issued relevant instructions.
