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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet meeting at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.

At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the cabinet on the discussions, consultations, meetings and contacts he made over the past few days with leaders and envoys of friendly countries including his meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva; Dutch Foreign Minister, participants in the 27th session of the International Understanding Forum; US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the phone call he received from Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Moheiaddin Khojah said the Cabinet noted the importance of hosting conferences as well as international and regional meetings such as those that were or will be held in the Kingdom. These deal with a variety of issues including security, health, economy, culture as well as intellectual security.

Dr. Khojah added that the cabinet also hailed the First Intellectual Security and Media Forum held in Riyadh under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques which discussed the continuous successes made by the Kingdom in regards to the awareness-raising programs, dialogue as well as enhancing pre-emptive measures.

The Cabinet also praised the conference for addressing the future of media and publication as well as the need to keep abreast with technological breakthroughs in the field.

The minister said the cabinet listened to a briefing from the Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister on the 10th consultation meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council countries which was held on Tuesday in the city of Riyadh.

The Cabinet pointed out that the election of the kingdom for the second time as the Asian member of the council of human rights of the United Nations for a period of another three years is a result of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' calls for dialogue and cooperation among the peoples and the kingdom's status and vital leadership role it plays at the regional and international levels and its care for promoting the principles of justice, equality and all legitimate human rights and freedoms.

Dr. Khojah said that after reviewing the domestic agenda, the cabinet took a number of decisions as follows:

The Cabinet approved listing the rules concerning the municipal councils contained in the regulation of the municipalities and villages issued by the royal decree number M/5 on 21/2/1397 H. in a regulation devoted to the municipal councils to meet the ambitions of the state to expand the citizens' participation in the administration of the local affairs while benefiting from the results of the studies carried out by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs in this regard. The Ministry should swiftly submit the draft regulations of municipal councils according to the proper legal measures. The membership of the current municipal councils' members shall continue for another two years starting from 12/11/1430 H.

The Cabinet authorized the foreign minister -- or his deputy -- to sign the agreement of the monetary union of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

The Cabinet approved the renewal of the membership of the chairman and members of the Dispute Settlement Committee provided for in paragraph 1 of article 13 of the Electricity Regulation issued at the dictates of Royal Decree number M/56 on 20/10/1426 H -- who were appointed by the Cabinet's decision number 211 on 18/8/1427 H. for another three years starting from 18/8/1430 H. as follows:

1- Dr. Mohammad bin Abdullah bin Mohammad Almarzooq, chairman,

2- Dr. Sameer bin O'lwan bin Hasan Albayat, member,

3- Yosif bin Mohammad bin Abdullah Almobarak, member,

4- Dr. Anwar bin Hasan bin Ali Mufti, member,

5- Fahd bin Mohammad bin Salih Ali'sa, member, and

6- Dr. Ayoob bin Mansoor bin Ali Aljarbooa, member.

The Cabinet approved the renewal of the appointment of Prince Dr. Turki bin Saud bin Mohammad Al Saud to the position of Acting Vice President of the City of King Abdulaziz for Sciences and Technology for the Research Institutes at the 15th rank for four years starting from 20/8/1429H.

The Cabinet approved the renewal of the membership of

1- Ibrahim bin Mohammad bin Ibrahim Alisa,

2- Eng. Mohammad bin O'mran bin Mohammad Alo'mran and

3- Khalid bin Mohammad bin Saad Albawardi

as members representing the private sector at the board of directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation for three years starting from 12/6/1429H.

The Cabinet approved appointments at the 14th ranks, ambassador, and minister plenipotentiary as follows:

1- Eng. Ibrahim bin Mohammad bin Hasan Alkhalil is appointed to the position of mayor of the region of Baha (rank 14) at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs,

2- Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdulsattar bin Abdulkareem Turkostani is appointed to the position of ambassador at the Foreign Ministry and

3- Shadeed bin Hamid bin Shadeed Alsahali and Abdulrahman bin Sulaiman bin Ibrahim Albassam are appointed to the positions of minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.

Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, received a message addressed to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud from the President of Tajikistan Imam Ali Rahmanov.

The message was delivered to the Second Deputy Premier by Tajikistan's Foreign Minister Hamrakhan Zarifi during an audience with the Second Deputy Premier at his office at the Ministry of Interior.

During the meeting, a number of issues of mutual concern to the two countries and ways of enhancing them were discussed.

The audience was attended by senior officials and Tajikistan's ambassador to the Kingdom Salahuddin Nasreddinov.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal received separately Special Representative of UN Secretary General for Iraq Staffan de Mistura and Tajikistan Foreign Minister Zarifi.

During the meetings, issues of common interest were discussed. The meeting was attended by a number of officials.

On the other hand, Saudi Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Ala'ssaf delivered a speech at the 4th Euromoney Saudi Arabia Conference which was opened.

Following is the text of the speech:

Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen

I am honored to welcome you to this important conference, and the Ministry of Finance is pleased to work in cooperation with Euromoney to organize it for the fourth consecutive year. This conference has become an important event anticipated by an increasing number of those interested in following developments in the Saudi economy, from both inside and outside the Kingdom. I would like to thank everyone who is participating in this conference, including ministers and representatives of the private sector, and I would also like to thank Euromoney for its efforts to prepare and organize the conference.

In particular, I would like to thank my friend Padraic Fallon, chairman, Euromoney Institutional Investor, for his personal involvement in this conference and for attracting this important number of participants from all over the world.

Ladies and gentlemen,

This conference is being held in the shadow of a global financial crisis that has resulted in a worldwide economic recession. The IMF’s latest projections are for the global economy to shrink by 1.3 percent in 2009, while the rate of shrinkage is expected to fall beginning in the second quarter of 2009, with economic growth resuming in 2010 at the rate of 1.9 percent, which according to the IMF, is slower than the usual rate during periods of recovery.

The global economy is suffering from low levels of confidence and demand, but it is hoped that the stimulus packages adopted by numerous countries will help to restore confidence and spur economic growth.

No doubt you have followed the international efforts made to confront the crisis, most notably the decisions taken at the two G20 summits held in November 2008 in Washington and early last month in London, in which Saudi Arabia played an active role. The G20 countries adopted a number of measures and policies aimed at restoring confidence and economic growth.

Among the most significant of these was the decision to reform financial sectors in the countries that have defects in these sectors and assign to the IMF the task of evaluating on a regular basis the measures and policies adopted by the G20 countries, as well as enhancing the Fund's surveillance.

In particular, this surveillance will cover all countries including developed countries, and all financial institutions including hedge funds, financial derivatives, and credit rating agencies, which Saudi Arabia has been requesting for a long time, along with the approval to support the IMF resources.

It was also decided to expand the membership of the Financial Stability Forum and to rename it the Financial Stability Board, with membership expanded to include the remaining G20 countries, including Saudi Arabia to strengthen its effectiveness as a mechanism for national authorities, international standard setting bodies, and international financial institutions to address vulnerabilities and to develop regulatory and supervisory policies in the interest of financial stability.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The current crisis mainly is a crisis of confidence, and it is no secret that sound policies contribute to raising the level of confidence. As affirmed by both the G20 and the IMF, the key to solving the crisis is to deal boldly with toxic assets and bank liquidity fears. International efforts must be consolidated and policies must be coordinated in order to produce the desired effects. No country is isolated from the adverse effects of this crisis, but the impact on Saudi Arabia - as we emphasized in the past - has been limited, thanks to the sound economic policies adopted by the government in past years.

In his speech before Majlis Al-Shoura (Consultative Council) this year, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz stated that Saudi Arabia lauded international efforts aimed at confronting the crisis and participated in the two G20 summits held in Washington and London to contain the financial crisis and limit its affects on the people of the world. He stressed that it is important for the donor countries and international financial institutions to fulfill their responsibilities toward the developing countries, particularly the poor countries that are suffering more than others from the effects of the crisis. Saudi Arabia has supported the measures approved by both G20 summits.

Within the framework of its efforts to reduce the effects of the crisis on its economy, Saudi Arabia has continued to follow an expansionary fiscal policy. The 2009 budget includes a 36 per cent increase in investment spending. The value of project contracts approved by the Ministry of Finance during the first quarter of this year (2009) amounted to forty billion and six million Saudi Riyals compared to around twenty billion riyals the same period of preceding year (2007) a growth of around 103 per cent. Net financing provided by government specialized credit institutions amounted to around twenty billion riyals compared to around 9.5 billion riyals in 2007, a growth of around 110 percent.

The current expansion of investment expenditure, which covers infrastructure, public services, education, and health sectors, will provide great trade and investment opportunities for the private sector both at home and abroad. We expect contracting firms and suppliers to take full advantage of these opportunities.

The sharp fluctuations in oil prices and the global economic recession underscore the importance of adopting sound economic policies that reflect the economic cycle. We shall hear from H.E. Dr. Mohammad Al-Jasser, Governor of the Saudi Monetary Agency, concerning monetary policy. We shall also hear from H.E. Abdullah Ahmed Zainal Alireza, Minister of Commerce and Industry. We also will listen to H.E. Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, who will discuss the broader situation in the GCC countries. Finally, we will hear a perspective from the private sector regarding the domestic economic developments by Mr. Mubarak Al-Khafra, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Manufacturing Company and the Saudi-Hollandi Bank.

Before concluding my remarks, I would like to state that we are optimistic concerning the future of the Saudi economy.

All the indicators support this optimism, and we have noted that the great interest shown by investors in the opportunities provided by our economy, and the large number of visitors to our country as reflected in the number of participants in this conference.

In conclusion, I expect this conference to help shed additional light on economic developments in Saudi Arabia within the context of the global financial crisis and unprecedented changes that represent a new phase of a new global financial system. I look forward to fruitful discussions resulting in useful recommendations to help strengthen our country's economy.

Once again, I would like to thank all those who helped prepare for and organize this conference, and all those participating in it.

Thank you very much.

Then, Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Ahmed Zainal spoke on the future vision of the Saudi economy until 2025 focusing on diversification of the sources led by the private sector to provide good paying job opportunities, high quality education and excellent health care adding that Saudi Arabia carried out many steps to achieve this goal including increasing sustainable economic and industrial growth, developing the business environment and infrastructure, continuing high rates of spending, supporting the national private sector.

The minister said that this vision send a clear message to the world that Saudi Arabia will not accept being or looked at as fuel supply station but rather as a laboratory of distinction and as an incubator of innovation and invention adding that there is no room for reversing this policy.

The minister called on all countries of the world to help achieve the noble goals of the global initiative launched by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz for agricultural investment abroad aiming at achieving national food security for Saudi Arabia and help guarantee food security for the whole world through the Saudi private agricultural sector.

Then, Governor of the Saudi Monetary Agency Dr. Mohammad Al-Jasser delivered a speech in which he highlighted Saudi Arabia's role in and contributions to the world economic system and its experience in taking various measures to confront economic developments at the local level.

He said that Saudi Arabia adopts an open economic policy despite its great dependence on oil. He added that Saudi Arabia support world economy's stability through its oil policy meeting world oil demand and seeking stable oil prices.

The governor reviewed the local financial policy and system in Saudi Arabia stating that the Saudi government paid most of the government debt.

The governor highlighted the monetary policy and the role of the Saudi Monetary Agency in securing a financial environment of stable prices in the kingdom and provided a brief explanation of the financial organization and stability.

On behalf of the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Dr. Nasser Al-Gaood, Assistant Secretary General of the GCC for Economic Affairs, said the GCC member states were and still keen on facing the global financial crisis and taking the necessary precautionary measures to curb its impacts, noting that the GCC leaders, finance ministers and central banks governors have intensified consultations among each other to make their economies immune to this crisis through preserving higher growth rates and pumping more money on developmental projects.

He said the GCC countries are expected to score more successes than others in containing the effects of the crisis, thanks to the high growth rates and financial surpluses over the last six years.

He gave an account on the measures taken towards economic integration of the GCC countries, citing the set up of free trade zone in 1983, application of customs union in 2003, establishment of Gulf Common market in January 2008, and set up of the GCC Monetary Union last December.

The last step would hasten the creation of the unified currency, he added.

A successful performance of the package of precautionary measures to confront the global financial crisis will nominate the GCC economic bloc to the world's eighth rank by 2020, he concluded.

Other officials and banking and financial leaders also gave speeches at the opening ceremony.

The first official session was then held under the title "general profile of the economic situation and global economic changes impact on the global economy".

The second session dealt with "workshops on stock markets in the GCC member countries".