Custodian of Two Holy Mosques meets Yemeni President in Riyadh on regional developments

Saudi Arabia asserts keenness on stability of oil market

Saudi cabinet underlines kingdom’s keenness on Arab unity

Kingdom calls for Arab solidarity, unity

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud received at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace a number of princes, ministers, senior officials and a group of citizens who came to greet him.

The audience was attended by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General.

Meanwhile, The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Premier and Chairman of Supreme Council of Petroleum and Minerals Affairs, chaired at Al-Yamamah Palace the meeting of the Supreme Council of Petroleum and Minerals Affairs.

The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, Deputy Chairman of Supreme Council of Petroleum and Minerals Affairs; and members of the Council.

Following the meeting, Minister of State, Cabinet's Member, Member and Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Minerals Affairs Dr. Mutlab bin Abdullah Al-Nafeesah, said that the Council reviewed the oil market situations as well as the efforts exerted by leaders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the 3rd summit held in Riyadh on 7-8/11/1428H. During the summit, the leaders asserted their commitment to managing oil resources effectively to promote sustainable development and to achieve prosperity of future generations. They also affirmed commitment to developing these countries and the peoples' living standards in addition to focusing on the organization's role and its contribution to the stability of the world energy markets and global prosperity.

The Supreme Council affirmed the keenness of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the stability of oil market and the provision of supplies to various areas at all times for continuation of the growth of the world economy.

The Council expressed its satisfaction over the work progress of the Kingdom's investments to expand production capacity of crude oil and the refining capacity to contribute to meeting global demand. The reliability of supplies is going in accordance with the planned timetable.

The Council renewed the Kingdom's commitment to coordinating and cooperating with OPEC non-OPEC countries as well as consuming countries for the stability of oil markets and for preventing the effects of harmful speculations. The Council noted that the 11th International Energy Forum to be held next month in Rome will be an opportunity for dialogue between energy officials in consuming and producing countries on the most effective means of achieving stability in the world oil market for the interest of all.

Then, the Council discussed issues on its agenda and took a number of decisions including:

- Approval of Action Plan for Saudi Aramco during the period /2008 - 2012/. - Approval of the annual report of Saudi Aramco for 2006.

- Approval of Saudi Aramco's general budget as well as profits and losses account for fiscal year 2006.

- Appointment of a foreign auditor for Saudi Aramco and its affiliates for fiscal years 2007 and 2008.

The Council also reviewed the technical, financial and statistical report on the activities of companies having mining licenses for the fiscal years 2005 and 2006.

The Council also discussed some issues related to oil and minerals.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Salih discussed regional and international latest developments including those of the Palestinian issue, Lebanon and Iraq.

During talks held in the king's palace in Riyadh, they discussed ways of boosting cooperation between the two countries in all fields to serve the interests of the two countries.

The talks were attended by Prince Mishaal bin Abdulaziz, Chairman of Allegiance-Pledge Commission, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes and senior officials.

King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz held a luncheon in honor of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and the accompanying delegation.

The luncheon was attended by a number of princes and senior officials.

In a statement delivered upon his arrival, Saleh voiced his happiness to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, saying that it comes in the framework of the continuous consultation with the Saudi King.

"The visit is a chance to coordinate the two countries' attitudes towards the current developments in the region and the Arab nation's issues including in the agenda of the Arab summit to be convened after days in the Syrian capital Damascus", Saleh said, indicating to the challenges the nation faces, especially in Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq and Somalia.

President Saleh said that the visit also a chance to brief King Abdullah on the results of Yemen's efforts for healing the Palestinian rift, which has led to sign the Sana'a Declaration to resume the dialogue between Fatah and Hamas movements.

He made reference to the seven articles of the initiative, saying that such efforts come to complement the benevolent efforts made by the brothers in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

In conclusion, the President expressed his satisfaction of the developing relations between Yemen and the Kingdom, reiterating his welcome to the Saudi investment to the country.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh had arrived in Riyadh on a visit to the kingdom.

At Riyadh Air Base Airport, he was received by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, other princes and senior officials.

After a short rest at the airport, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Yemeni President left for the palace of the king.

The president is accompanied by a number of Yemeni ministers and senior officials.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah Palace.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the consultations he held over the previous days with a number of leaders of countries and their envoys on bilateral relations, regional issues and international affairs.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Iyad bin Amin Madani said that the Cabinet stressed in this context the role of the Kingdom in supporting the unity of the Arab world and in defending the issues of the Islamic nation.

The Cabinet affirmed that the best way to deal with the challenges facing the Arab world and the Islamic nation lies in being sincere and clear in dealing with Arab and Islamic issues, being committed to charters and covenants, adhering to common matters, giving priority to the national interest rather than external alliances, and utilizing international relations in a way that serves the homeland and the nation. These principles are the grounds of the Kingdom's positions towards developments at the Palestinian arena, the events in Iraq under the foreign presence for the fifth year, and the ongoing state of polarization in Lebanon which forestalls its political stability and national independence.

The Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on economic and financial conditions. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques emphasized that "The welfare of citizens in addition to providing them with opportunities for work and participation in commercial, industrial, cultural and development activity are the objectives of each governmental body and should be considered by the state as a priority. This emanates from the state's adherence to Islam which calls for justice, fairness, equality, work, production, and pursuit of knowledge."

The Cabinet approved a general cooperation agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria signed in Riyadh on 14/04/2007.

The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding to establish a mechanism for political consultation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco signed in Fez on 18/05/2007.

The Cabinet approved the appointment of Eng. Ali bin Saleh Al-Barrak, Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al-Faleh, Issa bin Mohammed Al-Issa, and Youssef bin Abdullah Al-Banyan as members from the private sector at the Board of Directors of the General Organization for Technical and Vocational Training for a three-year period as of the issuance date of this decision.

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Higher Education (or his deputy) to discuss with the Irish side a draft memorandum of scientific and educational cooperation between the Ministry of Higher Education of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Education and Science in the Republic of Ireland and sign it.

The Cabinet reviewed a report on the work progress in implementing 812 projects of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs funded by the budget revenue surplus for the fiscal years 1424/1425H. and 1425/1426H. These projects are for drainage and roads inside cities and villages throughout the Kingdom. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed to expedite the implementation of these projects.

The Cabinet approved a number of appointments as follows:

1- Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al-Moqaiteeb as Undersecretary for Central Services at the Ministry of Finance.

2- Eng. Musaed bin Ahmed bin Abdulaziz Al-Saegh as Civil Adviser Engineer at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation.

3- Ibrahim bin Abdul-Latif bin Abdulrahman Al-Omeir as Social Adviser at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

4- Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Muhanna as Director General of the General President's Office at the General Presidency of the Commission of Virtue Promotion and Vice Prevention.

Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region patronized the inauguration ceremony of the First Saudi Forum for Travel and Tourism Investment entitled "Tourism Industry Forum".

Upon arrival at the venue, Prince Salman was received by Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Secretary General of Supreme Commission for Tourism and a number of the Commission's officials.

Prince Salman opened an exhibition held on the fringes of the forum, toured its pavilions and watched its contents.

A speech ceremony was held on this occasion.

Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, the Secretary General of the Higher Tourism Commission, held an open meeting with tourism investors, on the fringes of the first Saudi Travel and Tourism Investment Forum.

"The national tourism sector is currently passing through a transitional stage following the approval of the cabinet to reform its organization and domain. Moreover, this will create a stage for investment and picking up fruits through ventures in this sector," he said.

He pointed out that the tourism sector is one of the biggest service sectors in the world.

Prince Sultan bin Salman called for merging the economic benefits of the tourism sector with the deep-rooted values of the society, and said the sons of this country are proud of these values.

He noted that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has tourism components notably the Two Holy Mosques in addition to the fact that the Kingdom is an attractive power base for the investors due to its political and economic stability.

Prince Sultan said the new organization of the Higher Tourism Commission will link it directly with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

He noted that the Commission, in line with the request of the Shoura (Consultative) Council, has conducted a study on the impact of the National Tourism on the national growth, adding that the state has issued its directives to the Commission to update its National Strategy within one year from the date of the issuance of the Commission's regulations.

The Higher Tourism Commission has been working on nine tracks in association with the Supreme Economic Council and the Council of Ministers.

He hoped that a series of decisions would be issued for supporting the National Tourism including the general tourism system.

The Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross organization has awarded the medal of Abu Bakr al-Siddeeq to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in recognition of his humanitarian services.

The organization has hailed the Kingdom’s role in the relief domains at the international arena, and its continuous support to the Riyadh-based organization.

The organization at its 36th session, held in Tunis, deplored the re-publishing of cartoons insulting Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him), and urged the media to respect the heavenly religions and to advocate tolerance.

The Organization called for further dialogue among the civilizations for the service of the mankind.

The Organization also urged the international Red Cross Committee to coordinate and cooperate with the concerned authorities to get acquainted with the humanitarian needs of victims of disputes in several regions like Sudan, Palestine, Iraq and Somalia.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was represented at the meeting by Director General of relief works at the Saudi Red Crescent Society Fayez al-Ahmari and a number of senior officials.

The participants of the meeting approved a number of decisions and recommendations including approval of a report submitted by the organization's General Secretariat on the Organization's budget for 2007 and the estimated budget for 2008.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reiterated its call for Arab solidarity and unity to confront all political, economic and social challenges facing the Arab nation.

The call was stressed in a speech delivered by Ambassador Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Qattan, the Saudi permanent representative to the Arab League, in the opening session of a meeting of senior officials and permanent representatives held in Damascus.

The ambassador reviewed the situation in the Arab world and on the Palestinian issue, he said it is still without a just solution.

On Lebanon, he called for a speedy election of a president in Lebanon and hoped for an effective Syrian role in achieving a Lebanese national agreement based on the Arab initiative.

On Iraq, the ambassador called on the Iraqi government to achieve national agreement in line with absolutely national considerations away from any foreign interference.