THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES AFFIRMS THAT THE KINGDOM'S POLICY TOWARDS
THE WORLD IS BASED ON ACTION FOR ENHANCING THE ARAB UNITY, THE AUGMENTATION OF
ARAB IDENTITY, STRENGTHENING COHESION OF THE MUSLIM NATION, EXTENDING BRIDGES OF
UNDERSTANDING.
THE CABINET DECIDES TO SET UP A GOVERNMENTAL COMMISSION TO BE
IN CHARGE OF PROMOTING SAUDI EXPORTS.
The Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques King Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz chaired the Cabinet's session at Al Yamamah
Palace in Riyadh.
At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the meetings he held with Jordan's King
Abdullah II, Egypt's President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak and Iran's President
Mahmud Ahmadi Nejadi during their visits to the kingdom over the previous days.
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques affirmed that the kingdom's policy
towards the world emanates from deep-rooted convictions and embodies the
following principles:
- Action for enhancing the Arab unity.
-Augmentation of Arab identity of all Arabs irrespective of race,
religion and ideology; for affiliation to one Arab homeland is the only bond
among all Arabs.
- Strengthening cohesion of the Muslim nation,
understanding among ideologies, rapprochement among cultures and Muslim world
societies.
-Extending bridges of understanding and cooperation with all
peace -loving countries, all powers and trends calling for coexistence of all
civilizations and common human civilization heritage.
- Souldering the
issues of the homeland and nation, and contributing to the stability and
prosperity of the world through these convictions.
In a statement to
Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and
Information Iyad Bin Amin Madani said the Cabinet in this regard welcomed the
convention of the forthcoming Arab summit in Riyadh, expressing hope that
Palestine will be represented at the summit with a Palestinian firm unity
government and will participate in actions based on resolutions of Arab summits.
The Summit, the Cabinet emphasized, must reach effective decisions:
- To support unity of brethren in Palestine, lift the siege imposed on
them, compel Israel to respect international decisions and legitimacy;
-
To help the Lebanese strengthen their legitimate and political institutions and
spread love among the people;
-To support Iraq in affirming its national
unity, independence, and promote equality among its citizens;
-To take
the Arab homeland and people to a new stage by directing their efforts to
development, reform and economic integration.
On domestic affairs, the
Cabinet commended the kingdom's achievements in the fields of health, including
children's health and their vaccination against fatal diseases. The kingdom is
certified as a poliomyelitis-free country.
The Minister of Culture and
Information said the Cabinet then reviewed the items on its agenda and issued
the following decisions:
Upon recommendations of the ministerial
committee for administrative organization based on a study for the
organizational situation for promoting, and financing of exports, the Cabinet
decided to set up a governmental commission to be in charge of promoting Saudi
non-oil exports under the name " commission for the promotion of Saudi exports".
According to this decision, the board of directors of the commission
will be chaired by the minister of commerce and industry with members
representing a number of governmental sectors and four Saudi exporters to be
chosen from different regions by the chairman of the board of directors.
The panel will be assigned to take part in setting the state's policies
in the field of non-oil exports promotion, improve the export environment,
provide administrative, technical and consultative assistance and incentives for
exporters, help qualify Saudi employees and spread exportation culture necessary
for the international marketing and exportation, assist local consultative
companies jointly working with foreign companies and link investment with
exportation.
According to the new move, the Saudi Development Fund
remains in charge of financing and guaranteeing exports.
The Cabinet
approved a draft agreement for security cooperation between the government of
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the peoples republic of china
which was initially signed in Riyadh on 22nd of April 2006.
According to
the agreement, each side has the right to reject cooperation or assistance
totally or partially if, for instance, the party deems extending assistance
harmful to its sovereignty, security or general system.
The Minister of
Justice or his deputy was authorized to discuss with the South African side a
draft agreement for cooperation in the judicial field between the government of
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the republic of South Africa,
sign it and forward the final version for further authentication.
Upon
recommendations of the permanent committee of the Supreme Economic Council, the
Cabinet approved setting up the national industrial cluster development program.
The program, which lasts for five years and is financed annually by the
state under the supervision of the ministry of commerce and industry, aims at
creating a new industrial infrastructure in the kingdom to diversify the
national economy. It seeks to transfer dependence on natural resources (such as
oil) to a wealth of its processed by-products, and to introduce such final
products to the world market. The program also provides more opportunities for
national qualified skills.
The Cabinet approved the establishment of a
stock company under the name of "al-saqr (eagle) company for cooperative
insurance".
The Cabinet approved a draft agreement, initially signed in
Riyadh on 19 March 2006, between the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of
Austria for avoidance of double taxation regarding taxes on income and capital
and the prevention of tax evasion.
The Cabinet approved the formation of
the board of directors of the irrigation and sewage discharge commission for
three years, effective 27/2/1428 H. under the chairmanship of the Minister of
Agriculture and membership of Dr. Salah Bin Mohammed Bin Abdul Aziz Al'abd; Eng.
Ahmed Bin Abdul Rahman Al Bassam; Eng. Salih Bin Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al
Barak; Eng. Mahdi Bin Yassin Al Ramadan; and the director general of the
irrigation and sewage discharge commission.
The Cabinet approved the
appointment of Mohammed Bin Omer Bin Mohammed Al Safhan as agricultural
consultant at the ministry of agriculture, and Abdul Rahman Bin Mohammed Bin
Ghunaim Al Ghunaim as director general of the minister's office at he ministry
of social affairs.
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Middle East 
