In weekly cabinet session under Vice-Custodian Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz:

Cabinet values Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' efforts in interfaith, civilizations dialogue

King Abdullah, Prince Sultan send congratulatory cables to Sultan Qaboos of Oman, King Mohamed VI of Morocco, Latvian president

Vice-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Yosef bin Ahmad Al-Othaimeen said the Cabinet valued the great efforts exerted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for humanity embodied in his initiative of dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures which aims at reviving noble values among the peoples and nations and encouraging human goodness over evils, giving thereby hope for a future of justice, security, peace and honorable life.

The Cabinet stressed the importance of the noble contents of the speeches the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques delivered at the opening of the meeting of dialogue among the followers of religions and cultures at the headquarters of United Nations in New York on Wednesday. The speeches called on every human being on the Earth to live in peace and tranquility and to learn from the hard lessons of the past and for humanity to be united on ethical and higher values.

The Cabinet also valued highly the international response, support, interaction and consensus that states, organizations and international bodies showed towards this noble call of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to spread an atmosphere of tolerance, moderation and understanding through the language of dialogue and the logic of brotherhood.

The Cabinet affirmed the points the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques reiterated on many occasions, including Makkah and Madrid conferences and the meeting of New York, that focus throughout history on points of disagreement among followers of religions and cultures led to fanaticism causing thereby destructive wars in which a lot of blood was spilled with no justification or sound thinking. The Acting Minister of Culture and Information said that the Cabinet highlighted the participation of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in the economic summit of the Group of Twenty held in Washington on Saturday and his address to the participants which maintained that the financial crisis revealed the dangers of undisciplined globalization and inadequate control which call for boosting international coordination and cooperation and developing surveillance of the financial sectors.

The Cabinet also noted his statement that the kingdom will work hard to immunize its economy through the program of government investment and will continue implementation of this program by spending on basic projects and services and enhancing the absorptive capacity. It is expected that this program’s allocation for government and oil sectors will exceed $400 billion over the next five years.

The King also pointed out that the kingdom will continue to fulfill its role in working to ensure the stability of the oil market, hoping for the cooperation of the consuming countries by not adopting policies that adversely affect the oil sector. He also stressed that the kingdom will continue its policies of helping developing nations on the basis of fair sharing of burdens in any international efforts addressing the crisis and its consequences.

The Acting Minister of Culture and Information said that the Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's assertion that all countries should work to adopt the necessary and appropriate policies to deal with this international financial crisis and the importance of taking into consideration the adverse effects that the policies adopted by a particular country may have on other countries.

On another subject, the Cabinet expressed satisfaction over and appreciation of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Bashir's announcement of a ceasefire in the region of Darfur, hoping this step will lead to further progress towards a comprehensive ceasefire by all parties and then to a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

Then the Cabinet reviewed topics on its agenda and took the relevant decisions:

The Cabinet approved the bilateral agreement on air transport services between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the State of Eritrea signed in Jeddah on 13-2-2008.

The major features of the agreement are the following:

- Each party shall have the right to assign in writing to the other contracting party one or more airlines to operate services on specified routes.

- Systems and regulations of the contracting party shall be applied to the operation of aircraft upon entering in and departing from the territory of the other party.

The Cabinet decided to allow the General Authority for Civil Aviation to transfer units in the investment sectors to be allocated to companies for licensing their establishment alone, owned fully or in participation with investors from the private sector.

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Interior or his deputy to discuss and sign with the Sudanese side a draft agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of the Sudan on the transfer of persons sentenced to liberty depriving penalties.

The Cabinet approved that the Ministry of Agriculture shall chair the Saudi side at Saudi-Argentine Joint Committee for Economic Cooperation at the level of the ministry's undersecretary.

The Cabinet extended the enforcement of paragraphs (1, 2) of the cabinet's decision for another year starting from 11-9-1429H. These allow the importation of Palestinian goods and products along with the specification that the State shall pay the relevant customs duties on them.

The Cabinet approved the Memorandum of Understanding in the field of technical and vocational training between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government and departments accredited in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland signed in London on 31-10-2007.

The major features of the Memorandum of Understanding are the following:

- Exchange of programs on cadres specializing in the field of management and leadership of colleges and technical institutes,

- Promotion of the establishment of Saudi-British joint technical training institutes in the Kingdom.

The Cabinet approved the agreement in the field of technical and vocational training between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of France signed in Riyadh on 13-1- 2008.

The major features of the agreement are the following:

- Holding joint conferences, seminars, meetings and exhibitions for trainees, trainers, workers, and officials of colleges, technical institutes and concerned parties.

- Exchange of cadres specializing in the management of institutes and technical colleges as well as the provision of scholarships for Saudi trainees and trainers.

The Cabinet approved some appointments as follows:

- Mohammed bin Suleiman bin Mohammed Al-Ajaji as expert at the Cabinet's Expert Commission,

- Nasser bin Abdullah bin Nasser Al-Muhini as Director of Department of Security Forces Hospital at the General Directorate of Medical Services at the Ministry of Interior,

-Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Sakaker as Assistant Undersecretary for Education Affairs at the Ministry of Higher Education,

- Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Bowardi as expert at the Cabinet's Expert Commission.

Meanwhile, King Abdullah sent a cable of congratulations to Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the anniversary of his country's National Day.

In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the Sultan permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.

King Abdullah also sent a cable of congratulations to Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers on the anniversary of his country's Independence Day.

In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the President permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.

King Abdullah also sent a cable of congratulations to Morocco's King Mohammed VI on the anniversary of his country's Independence Day.

In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished King Mohammed VI permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said "Also, it is my pleasure to take this opportunity to hail the distinguished brotherly relations existing between our brotherly countries and peoples. We seek to strengthen and develop these relations in all fields".

Prince Sultan sent a cable of congratulations to Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said on the anniversary of his country's National Day.

In his cable, the Vice-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the Sultan permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.

Prince Sultan also sent a cable of congratulations to Morocco's King Mohammed VI on the anniversary of his country's Independence Day.

In his cable, the Vice-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the King permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.

Prince Sultan sent a cable of congratulations to Latvia's President Valdis Zatlers on the anniversary of his country's Independence Day.

In his cable, the Vice-Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the President permanent good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity.