Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session held at Al-Salam Palace here today. In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Muhiedine Khoja said the Cabinet reviewed a number of domestic and international issues, including the stalled direct negotiations between Palestine and Israel as a result of Israeli insistence on no settlement freeze in the occupied territories. In this regard, the Kingdom renewed its call for the international community to compel Israel to comply with principals of international law and resolutions of international legitimacy and to restore the extorted rights to the people of Palestine and freeze settlement activities. Dr. Khoja said the Cabinet discussed the cultural, scientific, economic and social events in the Kingdom during the week; a number of conferences and cultural activities were conducted under the auspices of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques including the international conference of "the Prophet of Mercy, Muhammad peace be upon him"; the Conference of the Saudi International Technology, Space and Aviation; the Second National Conference on e-Government; the Third National Conference for Quality; the Second Forum of Cooperative Societies; and the launching of the cultural market of Okaz. He stressed that these activities reflect the keenness of the Kingdom to achieve further excellence in various fields. Dr. Khoja noted the formal discussions between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan under the chairmanship of Prince Naif Ibn Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier, Minister of Interior and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Kazakhstan Serik Baymaganbetov during his visit to the Kingdom. The two sides concluded an agreement between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan in the fields of combating terrorism, organized crimes, illegal trafficking in narcotics and psychotropic substances. Dr. Khoja stressed the depth of relations between the two countries and their keenness to develop them in various fields. --MORE
