The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday afternoon. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet extended congratulations to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for his approval of the Prophet Mosque's expansion and his patronage of laying the foundation stone of the project. With this expansion, the capacity of the Mosque will accommodate up to 1,8 million worshippers. The Cabinet noted with high appreciation the King's speech during his audience with the citizens in Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah region. The Cabinet added that the King's speech included valuable contents towards Islamic religion, Prophet Mohammed-- peace be upon him-- and service of the Two Holy Mosques, and his appeal to all wise people of the world to deter anyone trying to offend religions and prophets. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said the cabinet reviewed the readiness of the concerned governmental and private bodies for the service of pilgrims. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques ordered that all efforts be exerted to provide the best services to the pilgrims. He noted the importance of coordination and cooperation among the concerned bodies as well as the spirit of the teamwork to provide services consistent with the efforts of the state in order to enable pilgrims perform their Hajj rituals with ease and safety. Dr. Khoja added that the cabinet listened to a report on the activities of the Saudi delegation to the 79th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, stressing the Kingdom's firm stances towards various global issues, expressed by the Kingdom's speech at the U.N. General Assembly. The Kingdom stressed its keenness to be at the forefront of any international effort promoting the principles and aims of the United Nations to achieve the aspirations of everyone for security, stability and prosperity. Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said the Cabinet then continued the discussion of items on the agenda and issued the following decisions: Having been briefed on the minutes of the Supreme Committee for Administrative Organization when it discussed a proposal to establish a specialized authority for public transport, the Cabinet approved the following measures: the establishment of a commission for public transport that enjoys a financial and administrative independence under the name of 'Public Transport Commission' with Riyadh as its headquarters. The new authority aims at organizing the service of public transport for passengers inside and between cities. It also supervises the service, provides it with appropriate fund and appropriate quality, and encourages investment in it in compliance with the objectives of economic and social developments in the Kingdom. The public transport commission will also be responsible for implementing the public transport plans across the country, make sure of the provision, from different sources, of enough finance to operate the public transport, draw the public transport route networks, including the roads and sites of utilities, forge the specifications for public transport means, grant licenses and permits, propose the mechanism for organizing the public transport fares and provide the appropriate environment for attracting investments in this field. The Minister of Transport will stand at the head of public transport authority board of directors. The President of the authority, representatives from a number of governmental bodies and three representatives of the private sector, who will be appointed by the Cabinet, will serve as members of the board. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Financial Intelligence Unit) and the Financial Control Center at the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia for cooperation in the field of exchange of financial intelligence regarding money laundering and finance of terrorism which was signed in the city of Yerevan on 12/7/2011. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Financial Investigation Unit, an affiliate of the Ministry of Interior, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Intelligence and Combating Illegal Financial Networks Agency of the Republic of France in field of exchanging financial intelligence on money laundering and terrorism financing which was signed in Yerevan on 12/7/2011. The Cabinet approved the Kingdom's accession to the Postal Payment Services Agreement signed in Geneva on 12/8/2008. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy to sign the accession instrument of the agreement. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Water and Electricity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Lands, Transportation and Maritime Affairs of South Korea in the field of water resources, signed in Seoul 28/10/2010. The cabinet approved several appointments as follows: 1- Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Shammeri is appointed to the post of minister plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 2- Nimi bin Hamad Al-Nimi is appointed to the post of assistant undersecretary for services (rank 14) at Riyadh Region Municipality. 3- Jaber bin Yahya Hakami is appointed to the post of head of the public notary office (rank 14) at the Ministry of Justice. 4- Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Biti is appointed to the post of information advisor (rank 14) at the Ministry of Culture and Information.
