RIYADH — The Council of Ministers on Tuesday pinned great hope on the ongoing third edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2019 that it would contribute to map out the future horizons of the global investment in accordance with the programs of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chaired the weekly session of the Cabinet at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Minister of Media Turki Al-Shabanah said the Cabinet appreciated the King's patronage of FII, which is hosting this year some of the world's most prestigious figures and decision makers as well as major investors and international experts, to discover the future of the business world through trends and economic opportunities and prospecting future industries. The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom's appreciation of the US administration's efforts and success in eliminating Daesh (the so called IS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and pursuing its members. The Council also reaffirmed the Kingdom's continued efforts with its allies, led by the United States of America, to combat terrorism, drying up its sources and confronting its dangerous criminal ideology. At the outset of the session, the King welcomed the new Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal Bin Farhan and Minister of Transport Saleh Al-Jasser to the Cabinet, wishing them every success. He also briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his talks with President Ueli Maurer of the Swiss Confederation, King Abdullah of Jordan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet reviewed the report from the National Competitiveness Center (Tayseer) containing the results of the World Bank Doing Business 2020 report ranking the Kingdom the top country in the world in the number of reforms achieved, and the most progressed among the 190 countries measured in the report. The Cabinet appreciated the role of government agencies involved in the implementation of economic reforms as well as the contribution of the private sector, which enhances the competitiveness of the Kingdom to be among the most competitive countries in the world. Al-Shabanah said the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the latest developments in the region and the world, pointing to the announcement of the Command of the Coalition Forces to repositioning of the coalition forces in Aden, to be led by the Kingdom and redeploying it, according to the requirements of the current tasks. "That move is falling in the framework of the Kingdom's continuous efforts to coordinate military and security operation plans in Yemen as well as to enhance humanitarian and relief efforts and to confirm its continued efforts to achieve security and stability in Yemen, in addition to supporting all sections of the Yemeni people and the legitimate government," the Cabinet statement has said. The Cabinet also welcomed the agreement reached between President Abdelfattah El-Sisi of Egypt and Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed to immediately resume the work of the Technical Committee on the Renaissance Dam, to reach a final vision on the rules of filling and operating the dam, ensuring interests of all parties and achieve their sustainable development. It also referred to the final resolutions of the Arab ministers responsible for the environment, in its 31st session in Cairo, calling on Arab and regional organizations to continue exposing the systematic sabotage of the Arab environment, in the occupied territories, by the Israeli occupying forces and the need to mobilize international and Arab support for Arab causes. The Cabinet also commended the efforts of the Arab Atomic Energy Agency to study the potential effects of border and trans boundary reactors on the Arab region and its environment, in particular the Israeli Dimona and Iranian Bushehr reactors, and follow up the monitoring of radioactive contamination in the Arab regions, bordering Israel and its effects on the region. Al-Shabanah said the Cabinet approved the Arab Protocol to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking, especially of women and children, and the Arab Protocol for Prevention and Combating Maritime Piracy and Armed Robbery, supplementing and completing the Arab Convention against Trans-national Organized Crime. The Cabinet authorized Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy to discuss with the French side the draft agreement on the formation of the Strategic Partnership Council between the Saudi government and the government of France. The Cabinet also approved the law of the universities.
