The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the cabinet's session at Al-Salam palace here this afternoon. The Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet reviewed at the beginning of the session a number of reports on latest developments at Arab, regional and international arenas and expressed its hope that the advent of the new Hijri year 1440 AH will be a breakthrough for various crises and an end to the hotbeds of tension in the world, and a year of the good and blessing for Arab and Islamic nations during which security and stability be achieved all over the world. The Cabinet commended the distinguished relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the keenness of the two sides to promote and develop them in all fields. In this context, it congratulated President Dr. Arif Alvi on the occasion of his swearing-in as President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of the double bombing targeting a sports club, the attack near a motorcade in the Afghan capital of Kabul and offered condolences to the families of the victims and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's government and people, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery. The cabinet confirmed in this context the Kingdom's solidarity and stand by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan against violence, extremism and terrorism. On the domestic level, the Cabinet expressed its satisfaction with the content of Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA)'s 54th annual report of positive statistical indicators for 2017 which highlighted the ability of the Kingdom's economy to adapt to the changes and confirmed the strength of the financial and banking sectors, expressing its optimism about the financial and economic indicators that emerged during the first half of the current fiscal year 2018 of the ability of the Saudi economy to adapt to the reforms adopted during the past two years through the achievement of good growth rates contributing to supporting the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. --More 15:31 LOCAL TIME 12:31 GMT 0016 www.spa.gov.sa/1812680
