Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques urges governors of regions to improve development, living services

Crown Prince Sultan donates SR 9,019,628 to set up renal dialysis center in Burkina Faso

Second Deputy Premier receives SAMA's annual report, presides over region governors meeting

Epidemiological diseases committee denies need to delay school year in Saudi Arabia

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet’s weekly session which was held this evening at Alsafa palace in Makkah.

At the outset of the meeting, the monarch was briefed on all works, preparations and services provided by the concerned authorities in charge of serving the guests of Allah Almighty in the holy mosques during the last holy days of the blessed month of Ramadan. These preparations aim to maintain maximum degrees of comfort for the Umrah performers and visitors of the holy mosque and prophet's mosque. The King urged all authorities to spare no effort to appease God Almighty first and, secondly, carry out the national duties they perform for the God's guests in the holiest places.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, Minister of Culture and Information, said the Cabinet was also briefed, according to the directives of the King, on a report submitted by Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, outlining the outcome of the 16th meeting of Governors who always seek the comfort, care and follow-up of the citizens affairs and needs with the aim of solving them in a way that achieves more prosperity for the nation and nationals.

Dr. Khoja added that during his briefing on the 79th anniversary of the national day which coincides the 4th of Shawal this year, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed thanks to Allah Almighty for the great blessings being bestowed upon this nation, topped by the country’s abidance by the Quran and Sunna since its establishment by late King Abdulaziz, and by the significant achievements the country has accomplished in the field of development.

The monarch confirmed that the national day celebration is but an embodiment of the national unity and preservation of the country's achievements and a call for increasing commitment to exerting more efforts to achieve different aspects of development in all parts of the country.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques said that part of God's favors upon this nation is that the national day would also mark the official opening of King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology in Thol, a new great civilization achievement not only for the Kingdom but also for the world at large, and an occasion scheduled to be attended by a number of leaders of the Arab and friendly countries.

He said the university will reflect the Kingdom's status and role in contribution to human knowledge and will become a bridge of contact among world civilizations.

The Cabinet also lauded the monarch's royal order to pay more than SR1 billion for the member families of the social insurance system to help them meet the extraordinary needs of the holy month of Ramadan and the blessed Eid Al-Fitr.

The Minister of Culture and Information said that the Cabinet expressed satisfaction over the World Bank's Annual "Doing Business 2010" Report, released last Tuesday.

The report ranked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as the best place to do business in the entire Middle East and Arab World, ranking it 13 in a list of 183 countries.

The Cabinet stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is going to exert more intensive efforts to improve the structure of "doing business" and solve the difficulties facing domestic, joint and foreign investment.

The Minister also said that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the talks, consultations and contacts which he held over the past few days with many world leaders and envoys on various issues, including the two letters he received from King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain and President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.

The Minister also said the Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of the 132nd session of Arab Foreign Ministers concluded in Cairo last Wednesday as well as the outcome of the 81st meeting of the Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) held in Jeddah last Tuesday.

The Minister of Culture and Information noted that the Cabinet reviewed a number of topics on its agenda and issued the following decisions:

The Cabinet approved renaming the fund established under royal order No. X/41362 dated 20/10/1423 to be the "Social Charity Fund."

The Cabinet approved, for a period of ten years as of 30/12/1430 H., the extension of the government's concession of its share of profits distributed by the Saudi Electricity Company.

In Makkah, King Abdullah met with Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister, and governors of the regions, Prince Abdullah bin Abdulaziz bin Mosaed Al Saud, the Governor of the Northern Borders Region, Prince Mohammad bin Saud bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Baha Region, Prince Khalid Alfaisal bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Makkah Region; Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz, Acting Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Qasim Region; Prince Mohammad bin Nasir bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Jazan Region; Prince Mohammad bin Fahd bin Abdulaziz, Governor of the Eastern Region; Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Tabuk Region; Prince Faisal bin Khalid bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Asir Region; Prince Fahd bin Badr bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Jouf Region; Prince Abdulaziz bin Majid bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Madinah Region; Prince Abdulaziz bin Saad bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Governor of Hail Region, and Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Najran Region. During the meeting, the officials listened to directives by the king who urged them to provide all needs to the citizens and improve development and living conditions for the citizens.

The king wished them success in their meeting which, the king said, provides an opportunity to exchange views and proposals to serve the homeland and citizens.

The king listened to a briefing from Prince Naif on the items on the agenda of the 16th meeting of the governors of the regions.

The audience was attended by Prince Mohammad bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Interior Minister for Security Affairs, and Advisor at the Ministry of Interior Dr. Ahmad bin Mohammad Alsalim.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, has donated for the establishment of Kidney Dialysis Center in Burkina Faso at a cost of SR 9,019,628 as a personal gift from the Crown Prince to the people of Burkina Faso to alleviate the suffering of the people infected with Kidney diseases.

In a statement to The Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the Director General of Medical Services Department of the Armed Forces Major General Dr. Kattab bin Eid Al-Otaibi pointed out that the Center began to receive patients on 1/3/1430H, and that it is attached to the University Hospital in the capital of Ouagadougou, indicating that it had been built according to the latest medical and technical specifications.

He noted that that the center was designed and executed under the supervision of Management of Execution and Maintenance of Medical Services of the Armed Forces and it had been followed up by the Crown Prince.

In a statement on this occasion, the Ambassador of Burkina Faso and Dean of Diplomatic Corps in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Omar Diawara expressed, in his own name and on behalf of the government and people of Burkina Faso, their thanks and gratitude to the Crown Prince for this humanitarian gesture.

In this context, ministers, officials, presidents of associations, doctors and patients expressed their thanks to and appreciation of the Crown Prince for donating to this charitable action.

The Minister of Health of Burkina Faso said that Prince Sultan Center for Dialysis is considered among the most modern centers in the countries of West Africa and it contributes to the improvement of health services provided to patients.

In a speech during the opening ceremony of the Center, Saudi Charge d'Affaires to Burkina Faso Nayer bin Mustapha Musli noted that the Center, which was established according to the latest specifications, comes within the Kingdom's contributions to assist brothers in various fields.

He pointed out that the Kingdom has provided assistance within the framework of its friendly relationship with Burkina Faso, including a loan amounting to SR 45 million for financing a road project, a medical assistance worth SR 45 million for the provision of vaccines.

"Moreover, Burkina Faso also benefit from a portion of the Kingdom's donation estimated at $ 500 million to the World Food Program to assist developing countries".

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior received at his office in Makkah on Sunday evening the Secretary General of Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) Professor Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.

At the outset of the meeting, Ihsanoglu briefed Prince Naif on OIC's activities and future plans, as well as issues of concern to the Islamic nation.

On his part, Prince Naif expressed his thanks to and appreciation of the Organization for its efforts in following up all issues related to the Islamic nation and its relationship with the world.

The meeting was attended by Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Salem.

Also, Prince Naif received the 45th annual report of The Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA). The report was handed over to Prince Naif by SAMA's Governor Dr. Mohammed bin Suleiman Al-Jasser during a meeting with Prince Naif on Sunday evening.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Salem, and SAMA's Vice Governor Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Hamidi.

Also in Makkah, Prince Naif chaired the 16th annual meeting of the Governors of the Kingdom's regions.

The meeting discussed topics on its agenda, particularly the standard of achievements in the governorates, provision of services to citizens and residents as well as facilitation of their affairs.

The meeting was attended by Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Interior; Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs; Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Salem, Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior and a number of the ministry's officials.

At the end of their meeting, the governors congratulated the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and the Second Deputy Premier on the safety of Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs from the wicked terrorist attempt on his life by an individual of the deviant group.

They also commended security efforts and accomplishments achieved by brave security men during a decade in various security fields, especially in counter-terrorism and choking up its sources so that the Kingdom's experience has become an important reference to security leaders in various countries around the world.

Earlier, the governors had an audience with the King and listened to his directives on meeting the needs of citizens and residents in all the regions of the Kingdom.

On the other hand, Health and epidemiological follow-up reports on the health status of pilgrims in Makkah and visitors to Al-Madinah Prophet's mosque emphasized that the health status of all are reassuring.

In a statement, the Ministry of Health made clear that since the starting of the blessed month of Ramadan, the number of those who contracted the swine flu in Makkah reached 128 cases and 109 in Al-Madinah, pointing out that all these cases were fully cured.

Meanwhile, the Minister of health urges all pilgrims to live up to the health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health to maintain their health and safety.