Crown Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the Deputy Premier and Commander of the National Guard, chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Monday. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Iyad bin Amin Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, said that the Crown Prince informed the Cabinet of the contents of talks, consultations, meetings and contacts held over the previous days with the leaders of brotherly and friendly countries. The Cabinet also reviewed reports on the latest developments and events at the Arab, regional and international arenas and on the political, security and economic circumstances in the world which necessitate joint international actions. The cabinet stressed that appropriate climates should be provided for the achievement of comprehensive, economic and social development, affirming that continual tension and instability in the Middle East have blocked the track of the desired development. In this regard, the Cabinet hoped that, along with the existing efforts supporting the peace process, the tour of U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in the Middle East would advance the this process in the Middle East, especially since the Palestinian side has shown flexibility. --More 2057 Local Time 1757 GMT
