Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, presides over the Cabinet meeting in Jeddah, Monday. — SPA JEDDAH — The Council of Ministers Monday welcomed the UN General Assembly's approval of an Arab resolution condemning the escalation of violence and killings in Syria. The resolution blasted the Syrian authorities for their continued gross violations of human rights of the Syrian people. The Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, also noted the statement issued by the joint meeting of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt after discussing the current situation in Syria. Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz Khoja said that the Cabinet expressed the Kingdom's appreciation for what was expressed by Chinese President Xi Jinping about the relations with the Kingdom and the desire to strengthen bilateral contacts and cooperation so as to maintain stability and peace in the region. The Chinese president also expressed interest and commitment to promote peaceful talks and political solutions for a number of issues. The Cabinet commended Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for approving recommendations of the ministerial committee with regard to giving permanent jobs for substitute women teachers in public schools. The Cabinet praised the Saudi students who represented the Ministry of Education and the King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for the Gifted and Creativity (Mawhiba) for winning awards at Intel International Science and Engineering Exhibition. It also commended the Ministry of Education for winning for the second time in a row the World Summit Award on the Information Society for the year 2013 for the project of networking of schools within the category of telecommunications and information infrastructure. After reviewing a report presented by the Minister of Transport as well as the Shoura Council's decision, Dr. Khoja said, the Cabinet approved the protocol of 2005 with regard to the agreement for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of maritime navigation, and the protocol of 2005 for the suppression of unlawful acts against the safety of fixed platforms located on the Continental Shelf. — SG/SPA
