February 17, 1999

KING FAHD CONGRATULATES PRESIDENT ASSAD ON HIS RE-ELECTION AND EXTENDS HIS GOOD WISHES TO KING ABDULLAH IBN AL HUSSEIN TO PURSUE THE GOALS SET BY HIS FATHER. CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES CALLS FOR ALL-OUT EFFORTS FOR GOOD SERVICES TO PILGRIMS. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz congratulated Syrian President Hafez Assad on his re-election and wished more progress and prosperity for the people of Syria under Assad's wise leadership. King Fahd extended also his good wishes to King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein of Jordan and hoped that the new Jordanian ruler would be able to pursue the goals set by his late father, King Hussein, and work for Arab unity and solidarity. Addressing the Council of Ministers weekly meeting in Riyadh, King Fahd called upon all government departments to implement this year's Haj operation in the best manner, extending good services to pilgrims. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques also urged the departments to make use of past experiences to gain more successes in the way of helping pilgrims perform their religious duties with ease and comfort. "We consider the Kingdom's services to the guests of God as a great honor bestowed upon it by the Almighty. And we have to make all-out efforts to accomplish this noble mission," King Fahd added. The Cabinet meeting reviewed the preparations made by various ministries, government departments and private organizations for the forthcoming Haj, which is schedule to start on March 25, King Fahd highlighted the Saudi governments efforts to ensure the welfare and security of pilgrims. Information Minister Dr. Fuad Al-Farsi said that during the meeting the Cabinet decided that those tribal members, who have already registered in the civilian register and live in the Saudi territories along the border, would be considered original Saudis. The Cabinet also clarified that the word "original Saudi", which is often mentioned in military laws, means the people on whose fathers the Article Four of the Saudi Citizenship Law is applied as well as the people brought up in the Kingdom while himself, his father and his grandfather (from the Father's side) enjoying the Saudi Citizenship. The Cabinet also decided to implement the resolutions adopted by the GCC summit on the decisions taken by the GCC interior ministers in their 17the meeting. The meeting appointed Dr. Hamad Al Bazie as Under Secretary at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy for Economic Affairs and Abdul Aziz Al-Tameem, as Director of the General Administration for Administrative and Financial Affairs.