Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday afternoon. The Cabinet expressed at the outset of the session its thanks to and appreciation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for his attention and care to citizens, his continuing interest in the development of various sectors and support to provide all the services that meet their needs in all regions. In this regard, the Cabinet commended the King's directives to allocate more than SR 15.1 billion (fifteen billion and one hundred million riyals) for the establishment of 22 medical projects as an extension of the previous royal orders for the projects of the Ministry of Health. The Cabinet also praised the opening of Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital in Riyadh with a capacity of 500 beds by Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Second Deputy Premier, Adviser and Special Envoy of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, on behalf of the King, laying the foundation stone for the construction of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center at its new location in Jeddah with a total capacity of 650 beds, and the opening of the new university city of King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences in Riyadh by Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Cabinet's Member, and Commander of National Guard. The Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) after the session that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on the latest development of events at Arab, regional and international arenas, and reviewed international efforts on various global issues. The Cabinet stressed the contents of the Kingdom's speech before the United Nations Security Council in its open debate on the situation in the Middle East and Kingdom's demand to act for the protection of Palestinian prisoners and to highlight what they are exposed to violations of their political, humanitarian and physical rights by the Israeli authorities, and what the Kingdom confirmed on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria as the number of dead has reached so far to more than 70,000 people, according to the joint statement of the humanitarian agencies of the United Nations, as well as the high number of refugees reaching more than 3 million people. The minister said that the cabinet discussed the results of the Third Conference on Afghanistan, which comes within the framework of the initiative of Istanbul, reiterated support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for efforts exerted regionally and internationally to renounce violence and fight terrorism for the brotherly Afghan people to enjoy stability and peace in order to achieve their aspirations for a better future. The Cabinet also condemned the bombings that targeted the French Embassy in Libya, expressing the Kingdom's position that rejects any aggression on any diplomatic mission around the world, no matter whatever the differences, given the inviolability and immunity enjoyed by diplomatic envoys under international laws and treaties. Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said the Cabinet, then, continued discussion on its agenda and issued the following decisions: First: After reviewing the 143th minutes of the Supreme Committee for Administrative Organization on the establishment of the Saudi Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Cabinet approved a number of measures including the following: First: A national center for disease prevention and control shall be established within the organizational structure of the Ministry of Health called 'The National Center for Disease Prevention and Control' and is directly linked to the Minister of Health, or his deputy. It shall be provided with the material support and necessary jobs. The center aims at contributing to the reduction of infectious and non-infectious diseases and work on monitoring, following-up and preventing their spread. Second: The Centre shall have a number of disciplines and tasks, including: 1 - Conducting of research, studies and applied scientific experiments in the field of health, promotion and prevention of infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases' prevention and control. 2 - Monitoring and follow-up of communicable diseases and non-communicable diseases on the national and international levels and creation of a database of its own. 3 - Supporting and facilitating the implementation of national policies and strategies to promote health and control infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases, and facilitating coordination among the concerned authorities to implement them. 4 - Preparation of necessary plans and strategies for immediate intervention in cases of epidemics and disasters that affect public health. 5 - Cooperation with the centers and other competent authorities in the Kingdom and abroad in the field of health promotion and prevention of infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases' prevention and control. Prince Muqrin Attended the Session
