Saudi cabinet appeals to international community to halt Israeli aggression against Palestinians

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz discusses issues of common interest with Luxembourg's Crown Prince

SR826 million allocated for road projects in Eastern District

MWL condemns re-publishing photos insulting Prophet Muhammad

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session at his residence in Rawdhat Khuraim.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the consultations, discussions and meetings which he held over the last few days with some leaders of states on various political and economic issues at Arab, regional and international arenas.

In this context, Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Interior, briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of the 25th session of Arab Interior Ministers Council recently held in Tunisia. Prince Naif emphasized the importance of implementing recommendations adopted by the Council, including Arab strategies in the fields of security; anti-narcotics; combating illicit use of narcotic and psychotropic substances; and civil protection. He also emphasized concerted efforts to eliminate the phenomenon of terrorism and to continue joint efforts to establish Anti-Terrorism International Centre which was proposed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques during Anti-Terrorism International Conference held in Riyadh in February 2005.

The Arab Interior Ministers valued the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in combating terrorism.

In a statement following the session, Dr. Saud bin Saeed Al-Muthami, the Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet for Shoura Council Affairs, Acting Minister of Culture and Information, said that "The Cabinet reiterated its condemnation of Israel for its continued aggressions on the Palestinian people as well as its policies aiming to undermine any chance of peace through announcing its plans to proceed with constructing new settlements in the occupied East Al-Quds. Also, the Cabinet reiterated its condemnation of Israel for its continued military escalation and killing of innocent people in Bureij refugee camp at the center of Gaza Strip".

The Cabinet called on the United Nations, the United States of America and the international community at large to stop the Israeli continuous aggression against the Palestinian people and to move the peace process towards its objectives of achieving peace in the region.

The Acting Minister of Culture and Information pointed out that the Cabinet discussed the efforts and movements of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to support issues of the nation as well as the work to find solutions to bring about peace and stability.

He also said that the Cabinet reaffirmed the Kingdom's support for the international agreements to which the Kingdom has joined to reduce climate change as well as its pledge of an amount of $300 million for the Centre of Studies and Research on Energy, Environment and Climate Change. He also pointed out that the Kingdom hopes that the Climate Change Conference recently held at the headquarters of UN General Assembly in New York will reach sound practical solutions that will achieve the required reduction in gas emissions while maintaining the cycle of energy to meet the growing needs of energy for development.

He also said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of issues on its agenda and adopted the following decisions:

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General -or his deputy- to discuss with the Kuwaiti side the amendment of an aviation transport agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Cabinet approved the accession of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the "Protocol" of the combat of manufacturing firearms and their parts, components and ammunition as well as the combat of illicit trafficking of firearms. This protocol supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The Cabinet approved a number of appointments as follows:

1- Dr. Abdulrahman bin Naif bin Abdulmohsen bin Humaid as Commander of 4th Regiment at the National Guard.

2- Eng. Yousef bin Ahmed bin Yousef Al-Saleh as Assistant Director General for Financial and Administrative Affairs at the Directorate General of Water in the Eastern Region.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his office at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace Luxembourg's Crown Prince Duke Guillaume.

Crown Prince Sultan welcomed Duke Guillaume, wishing him a good stay in the Kingdom.

Duke Guillaume conveyed to Crown Prince Sultan the greetings of Belgium's King Albert II. In turn, Crown Prince Sultan sent his greetings to the King.

Duke Guillaume thanked Crown Prince Sultan for the warm welcome and generous hospitality.

During the audience, they exchanged cordial talks and discussed issues of mutual interest.

The audience was attended by Prince Dr. Mishaal bin Abdullah bin Musaed, Adviser to the Crown Prince; Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Gosaibi, Minister of Economy and Planning; Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Hudaithi, Chief of the Court of Crown Prince; Mohammed bin Salem Al-Marri, Special Secretary to the Crown Prince; Belgium's Ambassador to the Kingdom Michel Lastschenko.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, received at his office at the Royal Court at Al-Yamamah Palace the Secretary General of the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) Dr. Saleh bin Suleiman Al-Wohaibi and members of WAMY Board of Trustees.

The Crown Prince was briefed on WAMY activities and programs in various Islamic countries.

The audience was attend by Prince Dr. Mishaal bin Abdullah bin Musaed, Adviser to the Crown Prince; Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Hudaithi, Chief of the Court of Crown Prince; and Mohammed bin Salem Al-Marri, Special Secretary to the Crown Prince.

Luxembourg Dukedom's Crown Prince Duke Guillaume and accompanying delegation met with Saudi businessmen.

Addressing the meeting, Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Jiraisy, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, underscored the importance of encouraging investment between businessmen in the two sides, noting that the Kingdom is home of several economic cities that need double effort and money.

On his part, the Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg Jeannot Krecke said Luxembourg hosted a dialogue between the European countries and OPEC member states on ways of cooperation between the two sides.

We want to invest in the infrastructure, refineries and other sectors of energy, he said.

King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for the Talent and Innovation (Mawhiba) and the National Center for Measurement and Evaluation (Kias) signed a memorandum of understanding for the service of the gifted in the Kingdom.

On behalf of Mawhiba the MOU was signed by minister of education and deputy President of the Foundation Dr Abdullah bin Salih al-Obeid and by minister of higher education and chairman of the board of directors of Kias Dr Khalid al-Anqari on behalf of Kias.

Dr al-Obeid said the MOU will positively contribute to supporting talent and innovation.

He noted that the MOU embodies the existing cooperation among the concerned authorities for encouraging innovation and talent.

Dr al-Obeid said the gifted persons constitute an important national wealth.

He added that the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, the President of the Foundation, is keen on turning the Kingdom into a society of knowledge which is capable of confronting the challenges of globalization.

We are keen on formation of a Saudi generation which is characterized by innovation, he added.

Norway's Minister of Petroleum and Energy Aslaug Haga welcomed the call issued by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to set up an international fund to be in charge of conservation of environment and the contribution of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia worth $300 million to establish the facility.

In a press conference at Al-Faisalia hotel in Riyadh, she said that she discussed during a meeting with the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi the issues regarding this matter.

In response to a question, she said her country is considering how to contribute to the proposed fund.

During my meeting with Al-Naimi, we discussed oil market issues and the challenges facing many countries, most important of which is the climate change, expressing pleasure of the Kingdom's readiness to develop the technology relating to the climate change.

We also discussed the issue of control on carbon dioxide and storing it since Norway and Saudi Arabia are both energy exporters, she said.

She also lauded the outcome of her meeting with the Chairman of the Shoura Council, members of the council, and members of Human Rights Commission and lauded her visit to Saudi Aramco and the performance of Saudi cadres there.

On the oil market situation, she said the view points of her country and Saudi Arabia are, to far extent, similar. We discussed matters relating to the oil situation in light of our confusion to where the U.S. economy was heading, she said. But we know that demand for oil is on the increase and that definitely there will be no shortage of supplies in the producing countries, she said, adding that demand for oil will continue to soar up to comply with growth, particularly in Asian countries like India and China. On energy renewable resources, she said Norway and Saudi Arabia consider that developing renewable resources is obvious. However, demand for oil and natural gas will continue for prolonged periods, she concluded.

The secretariat general of the Muslim World League (MWL) has condemned re-publishing photographs insulting Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him, by 17 Danish newspapers.

The statement released on this occasion said re-publishing the photographs will hurt the feelings of about 1.5 billion Muslims.

The statement issued by the MWL's secretary general reiterated the keenness of the Muslims on coexistence with other as well as on enhancing the pillars of the global peace and stability.

The Muslim will never tolerate any form of insult to their Prophet or to their Religion, the statement said.

The statement urged the concerned authorities in Denmark to take the required measures for preventing any act that may insult the Prophet Mohammed, peace be upon him.

The statement urged the Islamic centers and organizations and Muslims of Denmark to practice self-restraint and to resort to reasonable dialogue with others.