RIYADH: The Cabinet has reiterated the Kingdom's support for the Tunisian people to “overcome this critical phase” and its hope for a return of security and stability. In their weekly meeting Monday, Chaired by Crown Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, ministers discussed the situation in Tunisia and other developments in the Arab World. Ministers called upon the international community to “take action to stop Israeli violations on occupied Palestinian lands and illegal procedures by the Israeli authorities such as the killing of innocent people, razing their houses and destroying an historic hotel in Al-Quds in order to build more Israeli settlements”. Abdul Aziz Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency after the meeting that the Cabinet further urged the “brothers in Lebanon to work together to maintain the country's security and stability” and expressed its hope that the referendum in Sudan would “realize the aspirations of the Sudanese people”. Crown Prince Sultan briefed the Cabinet on his communications during the last week with foreign leaders and also on contact between King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. King Abdullah further spoke during the week to the King of Spain, the presidents of the US, Egypt, Turkey and Iran, as well as the Emir of Kuwait, the German Chancellor, and the prime ministers of Malaysia and Turkey. A message from the Sudanese president to King Abdullah was also received on his behalf by Crown Prince Sultan. On domestic issues, the Cabinet lauded the Business Environment 2009 Report by the World Bank, which said that the Kingdom had the fastest registration of real estate property in the world, coinciding with the Ministry of Justice's implementation of the King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Project for Development of the Judiciary. Ministers also praised the Kingdom for achieving a top-ten ranking being of countries able to meet their financial obligations and sovereign debt, according to a CMA Datavision report on the fourth quarter of 2010. The Cabinet also praised the Crown Prince's laying of the foundation stone for the new King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.
