Saudi Gazette report

JEDDAH — The Council of Ministers on Tuesday called on the international community to take immediate action to halt the atrocities against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar and give them their rights without discrimination or racial classification.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman chaired the weekly session of the Cabinet at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

The Cabinet denounced massacres, brutal attacks and genocide being perpetrated against the Rohingya, saying that these crimes and systematic destruction of many villages and homes represent one of the worst forms of brutal and bloody terrorism against the Muslim minority.

The Cabinet noted that the Kingdom was one of the countries that supported the Rohingya on international forums as well as at the United Nations Human Rights Council and provided them with a donation of $50 million through health and education rehabilitation programs, besides hosting the community on its territory since 1948.

Minister of Culture and Information Awwad Al-Awwad said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the Cabinet also condemned terrorist attacks in a number of countries over the last few days, and reiterated the Kingdom’s firm position of denouncing terrorism and standing by the countries affected by such attacks.

The Cabinet lauded the Presidency of State Security for its recent busting of a Daesh terrorist cell that plotted to target headquarters of the Ministry of Defense in Riyadh.

At the outset of the Cabinet session, King Salman thanked all for the successful operation of a hassle-free Haj.

“We praise and thank Allah Almighty for honoring this country with the service of the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites. Since the foundation of the Kingdom by the late King Abdulaziz, its kings have been mobilizing human and material potential to serve the guests of Allah, including Haj and Umrah pilgrims and visitors to the holy mosques,” the King said.

The Cabinet appreciated the announcement of the Public Investment Fund to launch Future Investment Initiative under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from Oct. 24-26, 2017.

Al-Awwad said the Cabinet congratulated Saudi boy and girl students in all phases of education on the beginning of a new academic session.

The Cabinet approved amendments to the Income Tax Law dated 15 Muharram of 1425 and these amendments will be in force from the beginning of the next fiscal year.