JEDDAH — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy prime minister and minister of interior, has said Thursday's heinous attack on a mosque in the southern city of Abha revealed the extent of hatred by the terrorist criminals as well as their disregard for the sanctity of the houses of Allah and the lives of innocent people. Prince Muhammad made the remarks while chairing a regular session of the Council of Ministers at Al-Salam Palace here Monday afternoon. At the outset of the meeting, the crown prince offered condolences to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on the martyrdom of several officers of the special emergency force in the on the mosque in the security compound. He said the martyrs included trainees who were enrolled in pilgrim service courses. "The terrorists have a deviant ideology devoid of all religious, moral and human values and their work has no relevance to Islam," Prince Muhammad said. He emphasized that these acts of terrorism will not undermine the Kingdom and the unity of its people in any way. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will remain a bastion of security and stability and these terrorist acts and what is being carried out by the Khawariji outlaws will not discourage the officers in confronting firmly all those attempt to tamper with the security of the homeland and its achievements," he said. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the Cabinet session, Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Turaifi said the council expressed the Kingdom's thanks and appreciation to the brotherly and friendly countries for condemning the criminal incident in Abha. The Cabinet reaffirmed the firm stance of the Kingdom toward terrorism as well as its determination to counter the deviant thought and its advocates to defend the security and stability of the country and its citizens. The Cabinet was briefed on the results of a visit paid by Deputy Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, to Jordan as well as his meeting with King Abdullah and a number of senior Jordanian officials. The Cabinet emphasized the content of a joint statement issued on the occasion of the visit, which included an agreement on the importance of strengthening strategic, political, economic, military and security cooperation between the two countries as well as mutual work on countering terrorism and terrorist organizations. The Cabinet was also briefed on a number of reports on the developments in the region and the world. It welcomed a joint statement issued following the meeting of GCC foreign ministers with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Doha, which discussed the progress, the next steps and the areas of cooperation announced at the Camp David Summit on May 14. The Cabinet also welcomed the statement issued by the Arab Peace Initiative Committee at its emergency meeting in Cairo, which called for putting Israeli settler groups on the lists of terrorist organizations, in addition to prosecuting its members before international courts. The statement also called for the need to hold Israel directly responsible for the organized crimes committed by these groups against the Palestinian people. The Cabinet congratulated Egypt on the opening of the new Suez Canal project, stressing the importance of the project for the Egyptian economy and global navigation. Al-Turaifi said the Cabinet reviewed a number of issues on its agenda and issued several decisions. It approved an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Germany on providing assistance to develop and train Saudi Border Guards, which was signed in Riyadh on March 8 and in Berlin on March 17 this year. The ministers ratified an agreement adopted by UNESCO on protecting underwater cultural heritage at conference in Paris 14 years ago. The council authorized the minister of foreign Affairs or his deputy to hold talks with the Central African government on a draft agreement for cooperation between the Kingdom and Central Africa. The council also approved the appointment of Ahmed Bin Saleh Al-Humaidan and Dr. Abdullah Bin Ibrahim Al-Sharif as members of the Board of Directors of the General Organization for Social Insurance, representing the ministries of labor and health respectively. It renewed the membership Majed Bin Abdullah Al-Bawardi, a representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, to the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Civil Aviation for three years, and appointed five new members to the board. They included Eng. Abdullah Abdulaziz Al-Jarbue (representative of the Ministry of Economy and Planning); Dr. Hamad Mohammed Al-Sumail (representative of the General Authority for Tourism and National Heritage); and Dr. Rumaih Mohammed Al-Rumaih,. Abdullah Mohammed Al-Zamil and Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Ruwaita (representatives of the private sector). The Cabinet renewed the tenure of two members and appointed seven others to the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines for a period of three years.
