Saudi cabinet briefed on outcome of interfaith dialogue conference, G-20 summit

Crown Prince Sultan signs program to replace, develop rescue mechanisms at Saudi airports

Deputy interior minister says no one responded to donation calls by Al-Qaeda, people donate for righteous objectives

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired in Jeddah the weekly cabinet meeting held at the Alsalam palace in Jeddah.

At the outset of the meeting, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques expressed his thanks and appreciation for world leaders who participated in the opening of King Abdullah University for Sciences and Technology in Jeddah, an occasion which coincided with the Saudi National Day. The King expressed his appreciation of their noble feelings.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the meeting, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja, the Minister of Culture and Information said that the King briefed the cabinet on the talks, consultations and contacts he made over the last few days with a number of leaders or their envoys on bilateral relations and developments in the region and the world.

He added that the cabinet also expressed their warm condolences to the governments and families of the victims of the flashes floods and natural disasters which recently hit some parts in Asia and Europe.

He also said that the King briefed the cabinet on the outcomes of the King Abdullah Initiative for dialogue among religions and cultures held in Geneva last Thursday. The King stressed the importance of dialogue based on mutual respect and understanding.

Khoja also said that the King briefed the cabinet on the G-20 Meeting held recently in Pittsburgh in the U.S. as well as the UN General Assembly 46th Meeting in New York.

Dr. Khoja added that the cabinet also discussed the preparations and precautions taken on AH1N1 virus by the Ministry of Education in cooperation with the Ministry of Health for the beginning of school year for elementary, primary and secondary schools starting next Saturday.

He concluded that the cabinet having fully reviewed it agenda, issued the following decisions:

1) Based on the Shoura Council Decision No. (28/24) dated 23/5/1430H, the cabinet agreed on the cooperation agreement on defense between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

2) The cabinet authorized Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz, the Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, or his deputy, to sign the draft agreement on convicted of freedom-depriving punishments between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

3) Having fully reviewed the recommendations by the Supreme Economic Council Permanent Committee No. (26/30) dated 16/4/1430H, the cabinet agreed to license the National Company for Insurance.

4) The cabinet authorized the Minister of Culture and Information, or his deputy, to discuss with the Egyptian side preparations for a Saudi-Egyptian draft media cooperation agreement.

5) The cabinet approved a Saudi-Qatari memorandum of understanding for cultural and information cooperation.

6) After viewing a report by Minister of Water and Electricity and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Commission of Electricity Organization and Dual Production on the review of the non-residential electricity tariff, the cabinet decided that when reviewing the electricity tariff of the consumption categories of the non-residential (commercial, industrial and governmental), the Board of Directors of the Commission of Electricity Organization and Dual Production shall have the right to amend and approve their values provided that they don't exceed 26 halalas per kilowatt/hour and that these tariffs shall take into consideration electricity capacities in peak and others times.

7) The cabinet approved a transfer and appointments at some government departments at the 15th and 14th ranks and the position of (minister plenipotentiary) as follows:

1- Dr. Saud bin Ahmad bin Abdullah Alsmari is appointed to the position of undersecretary of the ministry for planning and development at the 15th rank at the Ministry of Interior,

2- Ibrahim bin A'awadh bin Ibrahim Alahmadi is transferred from the position of director general of the office of the governor at the 14th rank to the position of assistant undersecretary of the governorate at the same rank at the governorate of Madinah region,

3- Talal bin Mohammad Noor bin Abdulghafoor A'ttar is appointed to the position of minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry,

4- Mohammad bin Mahmood bin Ali Al'ali is appointed to the position of minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry,

5- Ali bin Mohammad bin Ali Alhamdan is appointed to the position of minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry,

6- Imad bin Adnan bin Obaid Madani is appointed to the position of minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.

Meanwhile, Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, who is also the President of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), has signed a SR 498 million program contract to replace and develop the fire and rescue machineries and equipment of the 27 airports of the Kingdom with Fire Vehicle manufacturer 'Rosen Bauer' of Austria.

On the occasion, the Crown Prince said that this contract represents an important step towards achieving the goals of the strategy of GACA, particularly the highest levels of security and safety of the visiting passengers of the Kingdom's airports as well as all aircraft operating from and to them.

The member, Manfred Schweich, of the Executive Board of Directors of Rosen Bauer represented the Austrian company in signing the contract.

Then, the President of GACA Eng. Abdullah bin Mohammed Noor Al-Rahimi said, "The patronage of Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz for this program adds a deep dimension to the attention accorded by the rulers of the Kingdom to the system of civil aviation in Saudi Arabia in general and its requirements of security and safety in particular".

Meanwhile, Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Interior pointed out that security authorities have not so far monitored any response to the appeal of al-Qaeda for donating to it.

In a press statement last week following his inauguration of the International Symposium on Disasters Management organized by Directorate General of Civil Defense, Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz said, "People donate for the good, not for the evil. Those elements are evil-doers. No one assists them at all except for those individuals linked with them."

In reply to a question on what has been said by the Pakistani media about Pakistan's intention to extradite two sons of one of Al- Qaeda leaders to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Prince said, "Nothing has happened so far. Some Saudis may be handed over. Some of them may be misled; and some of them may be linked to terrorism."

The Prince stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been exerting efforts to receive its citizens whatever might be their mistakes, and wherever they might have been present. When they return home, there will be other measures in the public interest, he noted.

Prince Ahmad affirmed the inaccuracy of news reports indicating that Pakistan will hand over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia two persons involved in the wicked attack attempt on the life of Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs, adding in this regard, "The cooperation with Pakistan has been existing and very good. It aims to serving the interest of the two countries and to combating crimes in general, including terrorist acts."

As for events in Yemen, Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz considered Houthians' charges against the Kingdom's participation in these events as untrue, adding, "It's not in their interests to put the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in this situation. The Kingdom always assists brothers in good matters and it does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country".

With regard to his assessment of security cooperation with Yemen, the Prince said, "There has been good cooperation with the Yemeni government, and we aspire for more." In response to a question on bringing back wanted citizens, who fled to Yemen, Prince Ahmad bin Abdulaziz said, "There have been no remarks on everyone who went to Yemen. The door is open to those who wanted to return to the right. We will correct their situations. We hope that they come back to their senses and be fearful of Allah Almighty. What they have been doing is evil and war on the belief of Muslims", noting that there has been cooperation with Yemen in this regard and we hope for more.

On the Civil Defense, Prince Ahmad emphasized that the civil defense has been constantly developing and getting any required advanced equipment in the world.