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. At the outset of the session, the King briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of his meeting with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi of Republic of Yemen during which the Kingdom reaffirmed its keenness to support the brotherly Yemeni people and their legitimate government and achieve security and stability in Yemeni territories. The King also briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of his talks with President Alpha Conde of Republic of Guinea-Conakry and President of the African Union, his talks with Chancellor of Federal Republic of Germany Dr. Angela Merkel during which cooperation memorandums and projects between the two countries were signed, the message received from President Omar Guelleh of Republic of Djibouti, and the invitation received from President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Republic of Kazakhstan to participate in the first summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Science and Technologies to be held in Astana. The Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Alawwad said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on latest developments at Arab, regional and international arenas, commending the joint meeting of ministers of interior, defense and foreign affairs of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States under the chairmanship of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, which was characterized by the determination of the GCC States to proceed forward for further achievement of Gulf correlation and integration at various levels, their keenness to build relations and extend bridges of cooperation with regional countries to consolidate security and peace and expand economic cooperation with an emphasis on preventing external interference in their internal affairs, infringing on their national unity, inciting sectarian strife, and supporting terrorist groups, criminal activities and hostile media campaigns. The Cabinet commended the 18th consultative meeting of GCC Ministers of Interior and their confirmation of the importance of concerted efforts and coordination of positions to enhance the GCC common security in implementation of the directives of GCC leaders. The Cabinet also appreciated the convening of the donor conference to finance the humanitarian response plan in Yemen 2017 organized in Geneva by the United Nations with Swiss and Swedish participation. In this regard, the Cabinet pointed to the Kingdom's donation of $ 150 million to support the projects of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid in addition to the $ 100 million allocated earlier this year in support of its humanitarian projects in Yemen. Minister Dr. Alawwad said that the Cabinet renewed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strong condemnation and denunciation of the bombing targeted Karrada district of Baghdad, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of policemen, offering condolence and sympathy to the victims' families and the Government and the people of the Republic of Iraq, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery. On the domestic affairs, the Cabinet appreciated the efforts exerted by security authorities and their ongoing investigations that reached important results on crimes committed by a terrorist cell in Jeddah as well as their involvement in other terrorist crimes. The Cabinet also valued the efforts the border guards in Jazan region offered to thwart a terrorist attempt to blow up Saudi Aramco's dock and oil products distribution station in Jazan using a booby-trapped boat, reflecting the keenness, vigilance and efficiency of the security personnel and their ability to foil any terrorist attempt before achieving their despicable goals. The Cabinet also commended the new ten programs defined by the Council for Economic Affairs and Development, citing their strategic importance for the government, and serving as a complement of previously-approved National Transition Program 2020 as well as the Financial Offset Program 2020 in support of the achievement of the vision of the "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia 2030" to make the Kingdom's economy more prosperous and its society more vital, observing deep-rooted Islamic values and national identity whereas these programs represent the system of the accomplishment of the Vision which will be monitored by the Cabinet until 2020 through following up the approved governance which ensures accountability, transparency, continuous control, and activating the means of following-up the implementation of initiatives. Dr. Al-Awwad said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of topics on its agenda, and took the following decisions: First: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of civil defense (civil protection) between the Interior Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Interior Ministry of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Second: The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Islamic Sheikhdom in the Republic of Albania a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of Islamic affairs between the Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Sheikhdom of the Republic of Albania. Third: The Cabinet approved an agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion with regard to taxes on income. Fourth: The Cabinet authorized the President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage, or his deputy, to discuss and sign with the Albanian side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism between the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Economy, Tourism and Trade of the Republic of Albania. Fifth: The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Turkistan in the field of sports. Sixth: The Cabinet approved a cooperation protocol in the field of science and technology between King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of the Republic of Turkey (TUBITAK). Seventh: The Cabinet approved the establishment of a commercial attaché office at the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's Embassy in the Republic of Korea. Eighth: The Cabinet expanded the mandate of the Water and Electricity Company as a major purchaser of water, including the purchase of desalinated, purified, treated and untreated water with the right to sell. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance to provide a necessary credit support for the Water and Electricity Company to support its financial solvency in order to sign long-term purchase contracts. The Cabinet also authorized the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Minister of Finance, jointly, to take necessary procedures to transfer ownership of the Water and Electricity Company to ownership of the government. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Minister of Finance, by agreement, to establish a budget fund to cover the deficit resulting from difference between the assumed income of the water sector on a commercial basis and the real income achieved by the officially approved tariff as well as development of the foundations and criteria for private sector's participation in the existing water sector system. Ninth: The Cabinet approved that length of time spent by a PhD-holder-member of the training committee at the Institute of Public Administration on the job of (trainer) is to be included within the required period of the end of service reward. Tenth: The Cabinet approved a number of promotions at the ranks of 15 and 14 as well as a job of "ambassador" as follows: 1. Suleiman bin Abdulaziz bin Suleiman bin Duaij is promoted to the post of Administrative Consultant (15th rank) at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. 2. Abdurrahman bin Suleiman bin Othman Al-Ahmad is promoted to the post of Ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 3. Abdul-Elah bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Madhi is promoted to the post of Director General of Financial and Administrative Affairs (14th rank) at the Ministry of Rural and Municipal Affairs. 4. Eng. Suleiman bin Abdurrahman bin Suleiman Al-Farraj is promoted to the post of Architect Consultant Engineer (14th rank) at Riyadh Principality. 5. Hamad bin Abdullah bin Mufi Al-Dosari is promoted to the post of Organizational Consultant (14th rank) at the Ministry of Finance. 6. Fahd bin Abdurrahman bin Hamad Al-Saqabee is promoted to the post of Director General of Information Services (14th rank) at the Ministry of Finance. The Cabinet was briefed on a number of general topics on its agenda, including the annual report for a previous fiscal year for the General Presidency for Scientific Research and Fatwa Issuance. The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcomes of the 28th meeting of the Justice Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Member States. The Cabinet issued relevant recommendations towards them.
