Crown Prince Chairs Cabinet's Session

Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Salam palace in Jeddah today.
At the outset of the meeting, the Crown Prince, princes and Cabinet members forwarded thanks and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the unique achievements and accelerating developments witnessed by all parts of the Kingdom in the service of all segments of the society upon the monarch's perfect and well-advised instructions, noting, in this regard, that the patronage of the monarch of the opening ceremony of King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah as well as the finals of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Soccer final match for this season embodies his care for the youths and sportsmen as well as his encouragement for Saudi cadres on implementing this giant edifice in such world class standards to the satisfaction of the monarch's aspiration.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, the Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet has expressed pride and gratitude for the high level, preparedness, advanced training and technological and military know-how reached by the Armed Forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to protect the sanctuaries, achievements and territorial unity of the country, noting that the patronage of the Crown Prince of the closing ceremony of 'Saif Abdullah' military exercise and the administrative and military parade for the armed forces recently held on its fringes in Hafr Al-Baten, in the north eastern part of the Kingdom, once more reflects the care and interest of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Supreme Commander of all armed forces, and his Crown Prince for the armed forces of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The council was briefed on the Riyadh Statement issued by the Third Meeting of Ministers of Culture in the Arab countries and South American countries under the title 'Arab-South American Culture: Partnership and the Future,' sponsored on behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques by Deputy Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Second Deputy Premier, Advisor to and Special Envoy of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, expressing hope that the Riyadh Statement will achieve further strengthening of cultural cooperation between the two groups and preserving the cultural rights of the peoples of the Arab countries and South American countries.
The Council welcomed Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz on the occasion of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' order appointing him as minister of state and member of the Council of Ministers in addition to his work and wished him success.
The Council noted the fifth scientific conference of students in higher education and its themes serving the message of creativity in the Kingdom including innovation and entrepreneurship.
The minister said that the cabinet also reviewed the developments at the international arena and stressed, in this regard, the contents of the final communiquأ© of the meeting of senior officials of the Group of Friends of Yemen which was co-chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addition to the Republic of Yemen and the United Kingdom, reaffirming the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's full support for the Republic of Yemen to complete the terms of the Gulf initiative, reach political and security stability for the Yemeni people and overcome the challenges and risks to its security, unity and stability.
The Council of Ministers expressed condolences and sympathy to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's government and people and the families of the victims of the landslide in the province of Badakhshan.
Dr. Khoja said that, based on the royal directives, the Cabinet was briefed during its session held on 05/05/2014 on a number of issues and on the outcome of the Cabinet's Bureau of Experts, General Committee and its subcommittee in this regard, and concluded the following:
First:
After reviewing 174th minutes of the Higher Committee for Administrative Organization, the Cabinet approved an administrative organization for The General Presidency of Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (GPPVPV) and the organizational structure for the GPPVPV's branches in regions, cities and provinces in addition to the GPPVPV's branches in centers and provinces, according to the formula contained herein.
Second:
The Cabinet approved that the amounts derived from fines, or the value of goods or transport means - which seized by Saudi Customs' officers - after being subjected to verdicts of the competent court in the crimes of smuggling arms and ammunition, to be treated according to what was decided in the regulation (Law) of Common Customs of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)'s member States.
Third:
The Cabinet approved the implementation of the decision of the GCC Supreme Council in its (33rd) session, which was held in Manama on December 24-25, 2012, on the adoption of the uniform (law) code for mining in the GCC member countries as a guideline for a period of (three) years and to be reviewed after three years of approval as a guideline, and assigning officials of mineral resources to study the possibility of drafting a unified executive regulation thereof.