Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, chaired a cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon.
During the meeting, the cabinet reviewed reports on events and latest developments at regional and international arenas.
The cabinet commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's participation in the summit of leaders of Group of Twenty (G20) held in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires in which the kingdom's delegation was headed by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Vice President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Defense.
The cabinet also hailed HRH Crown Prince's meetings with leaders and senior officials from the participating countries on the sidelines of the G20 Summit. The meetings embodied the strengthening of the Kingdom's leadership roles regionally and internationally, reflecting its effective impact on the global economy. During the meetings, they reviewed prospects for cooperation in the fields of energy, its supplies and rebalancing markets, mutual investments and aspects of bilateral partnerships.
Minister of Media Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said in a statement to the Saudi press agency following the session that the cabinet welcomed the announcement of the kingdom's hosting of G20 Summit 2020 and the Kingdom's accession to the Troika Committee.
He further said that the cabinet commended items included in the final communiqué of G20 leaders' summit 2018 by concentrating on supporting the comprehensive and sustainable development agenda and the implementation of its goals by 2030. It also hailed the emphasis on full implementation of Paris Agreement in combating climate change, commitment to further strengthening of the global financial safety net through the International Monetary Fund, support for the necessary reform of the World Trade Organization to improve its performance, and renewing commitment to combating corruption and the condemnation of terrorism and fighting it in all its forms and manifestations.
The cabinet was briefed on the outcomes of visits paid by HRH Crown Prince including the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Tunisia, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Republic of Algeria. During his talks with these countries' leaders, they reviewed bilateral relations, ways of enhancing them as well as the latest developments at the international arena and the stances of the Kingdom and these countries towards them. The Cabinet expressed its thanks for them for the warm welcome and generous hospitality accorded to HRH Crown Prince and his accompanying delegation.
The minister said that the cabinet welcomed the agreement reached between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria to establish a supreme council for Saudi-Algerian coordination under co-chairmanship of HRH the Crown Prince, and Algeria's Prime Minister to enhance cooperation in the fields of politics, security, combating terrorism and extremism, economy, trade, investment, energy, mining, culture, and education.
Dr. Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said that the Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First: the cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Justice of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
Second: the cabinet approved two memorandums of understanding on political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Religions of the Republic of Costa Rica.
Third: the cabinet extended the duration of an agreement concluded between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the French Republic to avoid double taxation in respect of taxes on income and inheritance as well as the annexed protocol, both approved on 28/2/1403 H. for a five-year term, effective January 1, 2019.
Fourth: the cabinet approved two memorandums of understanding between the National Anti-Corruption Commission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and each of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA) and the United Nations Office in charge of Combating Drugs and Crime.
Fifth: upon recommendations of the Council of Economic and Development Affairs based on a report of the minister of education, the cabinet approved the implementation of construction, maintenance and transference process, which is an integral part of the executive program of the initiative of enhancing partnership with the private sector to build educational units, taking into account that the budget earmarked not to exceed SR400 million, annually, over a span of time not exceeding 28 years, during which at least 120 schools shall be constructed in the main regions of the kingdom.
The ministry of education shall conclude all contracts, in addition to agreements on leasing educational units in the main regions of the Kingdom for a period not exceeding 30 years, regardless that those agreements are concluded with real estate's development companies or otherwise.
Sixth: the cabinet appointed Dr. Abdulrahman bin Ibrahim Al-Humayid and Sabti bin Sulaiman Al-Sabti as members of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Zakat and Income for a three-year term of office.
Seventh: the cabinet approved promotions and appointments at the 15th and 14th ranks as well as a position of a minister plenipotentiary as follows:
1- Appointing Nasser bin Ahmed bin Abdurrahman Al-Khuraisi as Undersecretary of Governorate for Security affairs (15th rank) at the Governorate of Tabuk Region.
2- Promoting Abdurrahman bin Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Sadhan to the post of Deputy Secretary General (15th rank) at King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives.
3- Promoting Daifullah bin Badr bin Fanik Al-Otaibi to the post of Director General of Customs (15th rank) at the General Authority for Customs.
4- Promoting Ahmed bin Jazaa bin Hammad Alsheikh to the post of Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
5- Promoting Hussein bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al-Marri to the post of Director General of Dammam Branch of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (14th rank).
6- Promoting Saeed bin Khalaf bin Bakhit Al-Ghamdi to the post of Director General of Makkah Branch of the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (14th rank).
7- Promoting Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Abu Abah to the post of Administrative Consultant at the Ministry of Labor and Social Development (14th rank).
The cabinet was briefed on a number of general issues on its agenda, including annual reports of each of the Ministry of Commerce and Investment; Ministry of Labor and Social Development; King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives; and Agricultural Development Fund; for a previous fiscal year.
Accordingly, the cabinet issued relevant directives on those issues.
