Saudi Gazette Report

RIYADH — The weekly session of the Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Tuesday, reaffirmed the Kingdom’s wishes for the world’s security and stability on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan.

Addressing the Cabinet, the Crown Prince expressed gratitude to God Almighty for blessing all Muslim communities with this holy month and granting the Kingdom the honor of serving the Two Holy Mosques and their visitors. He also prayed that this month may bring security and stability to the Islamic nations as well as to the entire world.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosary said that at the outset of the session, the Cabinet extended sincere congratulations to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman on the advent of Ramadan. The session appreciated the King’s address to citizens and expatriates in the Kingdom as well as to the Muslims around the world on this occasion.

The Cabinet was briefed on the discussions held between Saudi Arabia and various countries of the world and their organizations at both bilateral and multilateral levels. These discussions aimed to enhance solidarity and cooperation and strengthen international efforts to address humanitarian crises in the region and confront global challenges.

The Council noted the Kingdom’s reaffirmation, during the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states, of the necessity of halting Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip and ending the suffering of the Palestinian people. “This involves enabling them to secure their rights to live securely and determine their destiny through a reliable path towards the establishment of their Palestinian state, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital,” it said.

Al-Dosary said that the Cabinet renewed its call on all parties in Sudan to adhere to the outcomes of the Jeddah talks aimed at achieving the interest of the Sudanese people by accelerating to reach an agreement of the resolution to halt hostilities and resolve the crisis through political dialogue to achieve stability and prosperity for the country.

The Cabinet expressed its aspiration that the outcomes of the First International Conference on Sand and Dust Storms will contribute to supporting international efforts in this field, which highlights the Kingdom’s pioneering role in addressing the challenges of climate change and protecting the environment through its local and regional initiatives, including the Saudi Green Initiative (SGI) and Middle East Green Initiative (MGI), culminating in the establishment of the Sand and Dust Storm Warning Regional Centre.

The Council considered the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) selection of the Education and Training Evaluation Commission, the first educational agency in the world that documents the organizational experience of OECD and transmits it to its members and partners, as a testament to the state’s special attention to the education sector and its quality in line with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 and contributes to preparing a globally competitive citizen.

The Cabinet underlined the Kingdom’s keenness on organizing global gatherings aimed at keeping pace with the latest international developments, commending that the outcome of the LEAP 24, including the launch of $13.4 billion worth of investments, will have their immense contributions to opening new horizons for this viable sector. The Cabinet also underlined the continuous growth achieved by the non-profit sector in the Kingdom in terms of the number of non-profit organizations and volunteers contributing to social and economic development. This progress reflects the government's ongoing support for the sector’s vital role in the nation’s well-being, the session noted.

The Cabinet authorized the minister of foreign affairs to discuss and sign with the Italian side a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the establishment of a strategic partnership council between the two governments. It approved a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the Saudi-Georgian Coordination Council and another MoU for cooperation between the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in the fields of food and medical products.

The Cabinet also approved the transfer of the licensing jurisdiction for the customs consulting profession and related competencies from the Ministry of Commerce to the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority.