The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Monday. At the outset of the session, the Monarch briefed the cabinet on the contents of contacts, messages and consultations held over the previous days with a number of leaders and countries' envoys on bilateral relations and regional and international issues. The King emphasized the importance of the visit being paid to the Kingdom by President Jacques Chirac of France, and the historical relations binding the two countries. 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 stressed that the official and popular welcome accorded the French president demonstrates the growing strategic relations between the two countries and the Kingdom's appreciation of and respect for President Chirac and France's moderate policy on issues of the region and the world. --More 20 16 Local Time 17 16 GMT
