King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, chairs the Cabinet meeting in Riyadh, Monday. — SPA RIYADH — The Cabinet on Monday approved the restructuring of the Military Service Council (MSC) under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister, the King. The MSC deputy chairman will be the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. The minister of defense, foreign minister, chief of General Intelligence, secretary general of the National Security Council, and the finance minister will serve as MSC members. Three more members will be appointed through a Royal Decree. King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, briefed the Cabinet on his consultations and meetings in the past week with world leaders, including Yemeni Prime Minister Muhammad Salim Basindwa, British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao. The Cabinet was also briefed on the messages the King received from King Juan Carlos of Spain and from US President Barack Obama. Dr. Yusuf Bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen, Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said the Council lauded the Chinese prime minister's visit during which a number of agreements and cooperation programs were signed. The accords, the Cabinet said, reflect friendly ties between the two countries and the eagerness of the two sides to upgrade their relations. Al-Othaimeen said the ministers thanked the United Nations for recognizing the Kingdom's efforts and its partnership with the World Food Program (WFP). They also praised the photographic exhibition at the UN in Geneva depicting the five partnerships between the Kingdom and the program. The exhibition is being held in recognition of the fact that the Kingdom is the fund's largest donor. On domestic issues, the ministers lauded the signing of the SR30.8 billion second stage of the Al-Haramain Train contract. The project is being financed by the government in order to provide best services to citizens, Umrah and Haj pilgrims and visitors. Al-Othaimeen said the Cabinet decided that the name “Ministry of Defense” will replace the name “Ministry of Defense, Civil Aviation and Inspector General”, and the title “Minister of Defense, Civil Aviation and Inspector General” will be replaced by “Minister of Defense”. Also, a decision was made for the Presidency of Meteorology and Environmental Protection to be linked to the Premier's office. Another decision was made to approve the office terms of the members of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Development Fund for a period of three years, comprising Dr. Khaleel Bin Abdul Fattah Khaleel Kurdi and Mishary Bin Ibrahim Al-Mishary. It also approved the appointment of Dr. Yusuf Bin Trad Al-Sa'doun, Undersecretary at the Foreign Ministry for Economic and Cultural Affairs, and Saleh Bin Abdullah Al-Awwad, Assistant Director General of Investment at the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), as members of the fund.
