RIYADH — Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, emphasized that the initiative of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to increase the capital of Arab financial institutions and joint companies by at least 50 percent reflects the King's keenness in further boosting efforts for Arab development and bringing about direct and immediate benefits for Arab citizens. The Crown Prince made the remarks while chairing the weekly session of the Council of Ministers here Monday. King Abdullah launched the initiative at the 3rd Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Riyadh last week. The King also offered that the Kingdom would pay its share if the increase was agreed upon by the summit. At the outset of the Cabinet session, Crown Prince Salman, on behalf of King Abdullah, thanked Arab leaders for their efforts and cooperation for the success of the summit, and their keenness to come out with key decisions to strengthen joint Arab work and contribute to realizing Arab economic integration as well as welfare and prosperity of the Arab peoples. Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja said that the Cabinet reviewed the latest regional and international developments. The Cabinet stressed the Kingdom's positions that it had expressed at the UN Security Council session with regard to the situation in the Middle East. The Cabinet approved the amended unified law for anti-dumping, countervailing and preventive measures for Gulf Cooperation Council states. The law was endorsed by the 31st session of the GCC Supreme Council in Abu Dhabi in December 2010. Dr. Khoja said the Council of Ministers also approved the amendment of Article 8 of the regulation of Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) to reconstitute its board of directors, headed by minister of commerce and industry. After reviewing a report submitted by Crown Prince Salman, the Cabinet decided to authorize him or his deputy to discuss with the German side a draft agreement between the Ministry of Defense and its German counterpart in the field of the protection of classified information, as well as to sign it, in light of the text attached to the decision, and then submit the final version to complete the legal procedures. — SG/SPA
