RIYADH — The Cabinet stressed the role of Saudi Arabia in developing the minerals sector in light of Saudi Vision 2030 that aims at expanding the industrial base and economic diversification on Tuesday.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, prime minister, chaired the Cabinet's virtual session here, in which it addressed the Future Minerals Forum, that was held in Riyadh, the signed agreements and memorandums of understanding that it witnessed and discussions on the most important future trends in the sector,.

It also highlighted the features of the future of minerals in the sustainable development of the world in addition to making the mining sector a third pillar of national industries and increasing its contribution to the GDP from $17 billion to $64 billion by 2030.

At the outset of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on the content of the letter received by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from President Abdelmadjid Tebboune of Algeria as well as the talks and mutual visits between officials in Saudi Arabia and a number of countries, which aimed at consolidating joint cooperation and collective action in a manner that contributes to further development in relations and supports security and stability in the region and the entire world.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on events and their developments in various arenas, reiterating Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the terrorist attack that targeted Abu Dhabi International Airport.

The Cabinet affirmed Saudi Arabia’s full support for the United Arab Emirates against all that threatens its security and stability, stressing that Saudi Arabia through its leadership of the Coalition Forces to Support Legitimacy in Yemen will continue to confront all Houthi terrorist attempts and the threat they pose to security and peace in the region and the world.

The Cabinet considered Saudi Arabia’ maintenance of the third rank globally among the biggest donor countries of humanitarian assistance in 2021, and being biggest donors for Yemen according to the UN Financial Tracking Service (FTS), a reflection of the firm values and principles of this country and its people in providing assistance to those in need everywhere. The Cabinet also considered this achievement as an embodiment of Saudi Arabia’s high international status in this field.

The Cabinet applauded the efforts being exerted to combat drug smuggling into the Kingdom and protect society from this scourge. The Cabinet commended the contribution of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, in coordination with General Directorate of Narcotics Control, in thwarting two attempts to smuggle more than 8.3 million Captagon pills and arresting their recipients.

The Cabinet was briefed on a number of other issues. It authorized the Minister of Sports to hold talks with the United Kingdom on a draft cooperation agreement in the sports field between the Ministry of Sports and the UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

It authorized the minister of interior and the minister of justice to sign the draft Arab agreement on prohibiting and combating human cloning, before referring the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures.

The Cabinet okayed the guidance model for a cooperation agreement to exchange personal data and information for security purposes and protecting them between the government of Saudi Arabia and governments of states of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

It authorized the minister of tourism to hold talks with Seychelles on a draft memorandum of understanding in the tourism fields between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Tourism in Seychelles. It also okayed a memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife in Kenya.

The Cabinet authorized the minister of finance and chairman of the Board of Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority to sign a draft agreement between the government of Saudi Arabia and the government of Japan on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs issues.

It approved a memorandum of cooperation between General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia and General Civil Aviation Authority in the United Arab Emirates in the field of civil aviation security. — SPA