The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Monday. At the outset of the session, the King briefed the cabinet on the contents of meetings, consultations and contacts held over the previous days with a number of countries' leaders and their envoys on bilateral relations and the situations in the region and the world. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani said that the cabinet pursued with interest the apology and deep regret issued by various Danish bodies with regard to the publication of the cartoons offensive to Prophet Mohammed ( Peace be upon him). The Cabinet commended the speech addressed by the King to Al-Janadriyyah Festival's guests: scholars, men of letters, thinkers, businessmen and members of the mass media from the Kingdom and abroad. In his speech, the King condemned the idea of clashes of civilizations and called for replacing the idea with a constructive and peaceful coexistence among the civilizations. The Monarch also demanded that the next stage in relations between countries and nations be a stage of real dialogue in which mutual respect dominates, including respect of one's sacred beliefs, religion and identity. The King called on intellectuals and thinkers to highlight the real image of the nation: the image of tolerance, justice and moderation. --More 19 25 Local Time 16 25 GMT
