The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session held on Tuesday afternoon at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah. At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques spoke about Allah's blessings on this holy country of serving the Grand Holy Mosque and the Prophet's Holy Mosque and to make it a destination for pilgrims and Umrah performers, where caring and serving them has been a top priority for the state since its establishment, and will continue. In this regard, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed all state institutions concerned with Hajj to perform this great duty at the best possible way according to the organizational and operational plans for the Hajj season of 1443 Hijri, which is considered the biggest after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to exert all efforts to facilitate procedures for pilgrims and perform their rituals with spirituality and tranquility and maintaining the realized health gains in facing the pandemic. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the content of the letter he sent to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the letter he received from Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Crown Prince of the State of Kuwait. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said that the Cabinet was briefed on the outcomes of the visits of HRH the Crown Prince to the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Republic of Türkiye, and discussions with the leaders of these countries. The discussions highlighted their welcome for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's two initiatives (Saudi Green Initiative) and (Middle East Green Initiative), support for Saudi efforts in the field of climate change, emphasizing stepping up work to confront extremism and combating terrorism in all its forms, and solidarity with Saudi Arabia in all the measures it takes to protect its national security and stability. The discussions also stressed cooperation towards all political issues and strengthening economic partnerships in the fields of investment and trade. The Cabinet addressed the visit of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq to Saudi Arabia and his discussions with HRH the Crown Prince, as the discussions reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries, areas of joint cooperation, as well as the exchange of views on issues on the regional and international arenas, in a way that contributes to supporting regional security and stability. The Cabinet commended the outcomes of the first consultative meeting of the Political Coordination Committee between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, and the twelfth session of the Saudi-Italian Committee, as these two meetings reflected the consensus in visions towards all regional and global issues, in addition to the keenness to strengthen joint work in different fields. The Cabinet stressed the contents of Saudi Arabia's speech before the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Ministerial Meeting, which included highlighting the importance of energy supply security, economic development, and addressing the challenges of climate change to ensure the growth and prosperity of countries. Saudi Arabia also called for the use of the large and growing international pool of funds to finance just green transitions. The Cabinet touched upon statement issued by the International Monetary Fund at the conclusion of the consultations of the 2022 Article IV, which stresses the strength of the Saudi economy and its financial situation, and that the near and medium-term outlook for Saudi Arabia is positive, in addition to the strength of its external economic position, which reflects the efforts of the state and its economic reforms under Vision 2030, towards improving the business environment, simplifying regulations, digitizing government operations, and working on a wide range of projects in a number of sectors. The Cabinet stated that Tawakkalna's winning the United Nations Public Service Award 2022 in the category of institutional resilience and innovative responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, is translation of the aspirations to enhance Saudi Arabia's leadership in the technical and digital fields, and to further progress to compete globally and achieve the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. The Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions: First: Authorizing the Minister of Energy – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Azeri and Brazilian sides regarding two draft agreements between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the governments of Azerbaijan and Brazil in the field of energy, sign them and refer the final copies to proceed with formal procedures. Second: Authorizing the Minister of Foreign Affairs – or a deputy – to sign a draft protocol to establish diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Vanuatu. Third: Authorizing the Minister of Culture – or a deputy – to hold talks with the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) affiliated with UNESCO regarding a draft memorandum of understanding in the cultural heritage field between the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and ICCROM, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fourth: Authorizing the Minister of Communication and Information Technology – or a deputy – to hold talks with the US side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of ICT between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the USA, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Fifth: Approving an agreement regarding worker employment between the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Pakistani Ministry of Overseas Pakistani Affairs and Human Resource Development. Sixth: Approving a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the intellectual property field between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Seventh: Approving a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Space Commission and the UK Space Agency in the field of useful use for outer space. Eighth: Authorizing Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Space Commission – or a deputy – to hold talks with the US side regarding a draft cooperation agreement in the peaceful use of the space sector between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the USA, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Ninth: Authorizing Chairman of the Board of Directors of the King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology – or a deputy – to hold talks with the US side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of semi-conductors between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the USA, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Tenth: Authorizing President of the Saudi Human Rights Commission – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Bahraini side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Human Rights Commission and the Bahraini National Institute for Human Rights in the field of cooperation in human rights, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures. Eleventh: Transferring the office of supporting development commissions, which has a Royal Decree No. (51770) on 11/10/1439 Hijri, to a center with the name (center for supporting development commissions) and approving the organizational arrangements for the center. Twelfth: Approving the companies bylaw. Thirteenth: Approving the real estate mediation bylaw. Fourteenth: Approving the organizational framework for public transport projects. Fifteenth: Renewing the membership of Faisal bin Saud Al-Khumaisi and appointing Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Al-Haqbani and Eng. Yousef bin Ali Al-Olayyan from the private sector as members of the board of directors of the Communications and Information Technology Commission. Sixteenth: Appointing Eng. Nabil bin Khalid Al-Dibel, Al-Jawharah bint Abdullah Al-Majli, Fawzi bin Abdulrahman Bobsheet, Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Boali and renewing the membership of Eng. Abdullah bin Abdulrahman Al-Obeikan from the private sector as members of the board of directors of the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation. Seventeenth: Accrediting the final statements for the Saudi Standards, Metrology, and Quality Organization; Public Pension Agency (formerly); Tabuk University; and the National Center for Performance Management for two previous financial years. Eighteenth: Approving promotions to the 15th and 14th ranks. The Cabinet also reviewed several issues on its agenda and took necessary procedures regarding them.
