The Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on Tuesday afternoon at Irqah Palace in Riyadh, extended the exemption period of small enterprises by one year, from the date of expiration, from paying the financial fee. The Cabinet on Tuesday extended the provisions of items (Second) and (Third) of the Cabinet's Decision No. (515) issued on 14/8/1441 Hijri — related to exempting small enterprises with a total of nine workers or less, including their owner, from paying the financial fee for a period of three years — for one year as of the date of expiration of the referred period. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on the content of the two letters received by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince from the President of the Republic of The Gambia, and Head of Transitional Council and President of the Republic of Chad. The Cabinet then reviewed Saudi Arabia's overall actions, both politically and economically, which aimed at strengthening international cooperation in various fields and finding more innovative and joint solutions to address global challenges. The Cabinet, in this regard, underlined the content of Saudi Arabia's participation in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 in Davos, Switzerland. During the WEF, Saudi Arabia highlighted the progress achieved within Vision 2030 concerning reaching a thriving and diversified economy to unlock opportunities for cooperation with the world, and Saudi Arabia's active contributions and international initiatives to support the stability and growth of the global economy, preserve the environment and limit climate change. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Minister of State, Cabinet's Member for Shoura Council Affairs and Acting Minister of Media Dr. Essam Bin Saad Bin Saeed said that the Cabinet commended the outcomes of the 13th meeting of the joint Saudi-Swiss Economic Committee held in Zürich. The meeting saw the signing of memorandums of understanding to expand cooperation between the two countries and take advantage of the available opportunities in different fields. The Cabinet followed the developments regionally and globally, reiterating Saudi Arabia's position calling for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance and coexistence, and rejecting the causes of hatred and extremism. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs to hold talks with the Costa Rican side regarding a draft general cooperation agreement between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Costa Rica. It authorized the Minister of Culture to hold talks with the Nigerien side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Ministry of Culture in Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Crafts in Niger. It approvedg an agreement on labor cooperation to employ a workforce between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. The Cabinet approved Saudi Arabia's updated schedule of commitments for trade in services under the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework, and authorized the Minister of Commerce and chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Foreign Trade to submit the updated schedule of commitments for trade in services under the WTO framework in accordance with WTO procedures. It approved amendments accredited by the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to the IMO Convention signed in Geneva in 1948. It also approved Saudi Arabia's accession to the memorandum of agreement of the Middle East and North Africa Regional Air Safety Monitoring Organization. The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Education and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation to hold talks with the Austrian side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of technical and vocational training between the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation in Saudi Arabia and the Austrian Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy. It Suspended work of the e-system for identifying ownership of residences, while reviewing several issues on its agenda and took necessary procedures regarding them. — SPA
