March 3, 2006

THE CUSTODIAN OF THE TWO HOLY MOSQUES RECEIVES A COPY OF THE ANNUAL REPORT OF THE GENERAL AUDITING BUREAU. THE GCC MINISTERIAL COUNCIL CALLS ON IRAN TO REPATRIATE THE THREE ISLANDS TO THE UAE AND CONDEMNS THE TERRORIST ATTACKS IN SAUDI ARABIA. THE GCC AND THE US STRESS THAT THE REGION SHOULD BE FREE OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh Prince Naif Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Minister of Interior, accompanied by the Secretary General of the Arab Interior Ministers Council Dr. Mohammed bin Ali Koman. At the outset of the meeting, King Abdullah congratulated Koman on assuming office as the council's Secretary General. Then the King received a memorial gift from Prince Naif forwarded to him by the Arab Interior Ministers Council in recognition of the monarch's continual support for the council and the contribution of the Kingdom to building the council's headquarters. The audience was attended by a number of princes. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh the Chairman of the General Auditing Bureau Osamah bin Jaafar Faqih and a number of senior officials of the department. At the outset of the meeting, Faqih handed over a copy the bureau's 1424-1425 H. annual report to King Abdullah. Briefing the monarch on the contents of the report, Faqih paid tribute to the continuous follow-up and interest of the king in the performance of the bureau emanating from the determination of the king to continue the march of economic, financial and administrative reforms according to regulations and systems to tighten the grip on the performance and control of government organizations and to increase their effectiveness in view of the positive output of information technology. He said today's report on the fiscal year 1424-1425 H. includes the outcome of auditing and examining of accounting records, contracts, budgets and final accounts of all government bodies and general establishments and companies under the auditing umbrella of the bureau, including the remarks, violations and deficiencies and the bureau's view points on the ways to correct the mistakes and mishaps. The audience was attended by a number of princes. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz received at his office at the Royal Court at Al Yamamah palace in Riyadh the participants in the Arab Russian Business Council, currently ongoing in Riyadh. At the outset of the meeting, King Abdullah listened to a thorough explanation from the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry Council Chairman Abdul Rahman Al Rahsid, who is also the current Chairman of the Arab Russian Business Council, on the agenda of the meeting and the progress of discussions. On his part, the king welcomed all participants in the meeting, wishing them every success. The audience was attended by a number of princes and ministers. The approval of the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has been issued for the introduction of the system of vertical aviation in the units of the national guard. This was announced by General Prince Metib Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs, in a statement to SPA. He noted that the introduction of this system, which comes within the framework of the ongoing efforts to further develop the national guard, will positively contribute to enhancing its combating capability. In the light on this development, an order has been issued for establishing a unit for vertical aviation under the title of 'The National Guard's Aviation Command'. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz has ordered promotion and appointment of 316 officers of various ranks at the military sectors. In Riyadh, Gulf Cooperation Council countries' foreign ministers issued a joint communiqué. The ministers reviewed the group's achievements on the economic field, including power grid, water, oil, industrial, commercial, and transportation cooperation. The meeting was also briefed on the developments of the GCC relations with other economic blocs. The statement said the ministers also had a look on cooperation in the field of environment, social insurance, education, military, security, particularly the fight against terror, and information exchange. The ministers lauded the vigilance of Saudi security forces that evaded the world an energy crisis. They supported a proposal to set up an international center for combating terrorism under the umbrella of the United Nations. The communiqué said that the phenomenon of terrorism still poses the major threat to the region and the world. We denounce all terrorist acts, particularly the recent terrorism attempts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the statement said. It said the GCC denounces the cartoons that appeared in a Danish newspaper and considered blasphemous to our prophet (peace be upon him), resulting in regrettable incidents all over the world. Though criticizing an incident insulting all Muslims, some protesters did that in a way unacceptable to Islam itself as our religion doesn't call for violence, subversion or attack on the innocents and public properties, the communiqué said. On politics, the statement reiterated its support for the right of the UAE in its sovereignty over the three islands of Tumb Alkubra, Tumb Alsughra and Abu-Musa. It called on Iran to meet the UAE, GCC and the world demands to solve the problem peacefully through voluntarily repatriate the islands to the UAE or agree that both sides go to the international justice court. On Iraq, the GCC welcomes the outcome of the elections, hoping that it would conduce to the formation of a national unity government that includes all political and effective parties and leads to stability, security and prosperity of Iraq. The council denounced the continuing violence and terrorism, particularly that targeted the sacred places. statement reaffirmed the commitments of the GCC member states to provide support for the rehabilitation of Iraq. It also called for a mass destruction weapons free Middle East, including the Arab Gulf region in compliance with the international legitimacy resolutions. On Palestine, the council called on the world community to respect the choice of the Palestinian people and to mount pressure on Israel to choose the path of fair and comprehensive peace in the region. The ministers also called on the world community to continue their support for the Palestinian people according to the previous resolutions made by various international organizations. They call on the Palestinian politicians to show unity towards the establishment of an independent state with Alquds as its capital. The statement urged all parties to work for the application of the road map, the Arab initiative and the evasion of more tension and violence in the region. On Lebanon, the council expressed keenness to support political, security and economic stability of the Arab state, calling on the Lebanese to overcome differences and show restraint for the sake of forging integral unity and stability. They called on the Lebanese and Syrian parties to enter into close dialogue for their own security and stability, calling on the world community to expedite steps to reveal the killers of late Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafiq Al-Hariri. The ministers reviewed the developments in Sudan, including the deterioration of the situation in Darfor and lauded the efforts exerted by Sudan government to reach solutions to the crisis. They urged the world community to exert more effort to help solve the problem. The secretariat general congratulated Dr. Abdullah Aqla Al Hashim from Kuwait on his appointment as Assistant Secretary General for Human and Environment Affairs for a three year term, retroactive January 2006, wishing him every success. Gulf Cooperation Council countries' foreign ministers had started their meeting in Riyadh . The Saudi delegation to the meeting was led by Prince Saud Alfaisal, the Foreign Minister. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahayan, who is also chairman of the current ministerial council's session, reviewed the agenda of the meeting which includes a number of issues in the economic, social, educational, security and information fields. He called for making and continuing changes in the methodology of the joint GCC work to match with the drastic contemporary changes in the world, through unifying ranks and pushing the GCC work to enhance the bloc's march at regional and international arenas. He said that the phenomenon of terrorism still poses the major threat to the region and the world. We denounce all terrorist acts, particularly the recent terrorism attempts in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and we appraise the efforts exerted by the Saudi security forces and their courageous and wise treatment of the situation, he said. On the three UAE Iran-occupied islands, the minister called on Iran to meet the UAE, GCC and the world efforts to solve the problem peacefully through voluntarily repatriate the islands to the UAE or agree that both sides appear before the international justice court. He said the Iranian nuclear file still constitutes a considerable obsession for the region's countries, a matter that necessitates that we all work effectively and swiftly to urge Iran to positively respond to the requirements of the world community. In this regard, we call for a mass destruction weapons free Middle East, including the Arab Gulf region in compliance with the international legitimacy resolutions. On Iraq, he said we are looking forward to see the formation of a national unity government that includes all political and effective parties and leads to stability, security and prosperity of Iraq. On Palestine, he called on the world community to continue their support for the Palestinian people according to the previous resolutions made by the various international organizations. He urged all parties to work for the application of the road map, the Arab initiative and the evasion of more tension and violence in the region. He said the GCC denounces the cartoons appeared in a Danish newspaper and considered blasphemous to our prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), resulting in regrettable incidents all over the world. Though criticizing an incident insulting all Muslims, some protesters did that in a way unacceptable to Islam itself as our religion doesn't call for violence, subversion or attack on the innocents and public properties, he said. The UAE minister called for concluding negotiations between the GCC and the European Union on a draft duty free trade zone between the two blocs and signing the agreement sometime this year. Then the GCC foreign ministers entered into a closed-door session. Gulf Cooperation Council countries' foreign ministers held a meeting with Yemeni foreign minister Dr. Abu Bakr Al Qirbi. Yemen is a member of some GCC institutions. The Secretariat General of the Gulf Cooperation Council reaffirmed that the meeting of the GCC foreign ministers with Yemen's foreign minister Dr. Abu-Bakr Abdullah Al Qirbi came within the distinguished fraternal relations and the deep-rooted ties binding the GCC member countries and neighboring Yemen. In a statement following the meeting, the Secretariat General said the ministers were briefed by the GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al Atiyyah on the achievements in different fields between GCC states and Yemen. The ministers also listened to a report submitted by their Yemeni counterpart on the trade exchange between the two sides. Dr. Al Qirbi proposed the creation of additional mechanisms to finance the development projects in Yemen. On their part, the ministers promised to study the proposal and call for an international donor conference under the patronage of the GCC to forge strict plans and programs aiming at providing the necessary financing requirements for Yemen's economic, social and educational development. They underscored the importance of creating an appropriate environment to encourage local, GCC and international investment in Yemen. The ministers also urged the expansion of cooperation between Yemen and GCC, which currently covers education, health, labor, social affairs, sports and youth, to include standardization, and industrial consultations. A conference on investment in Yemen was proposed to take place sometime in the second half of 2006. Minister of Foreign and Expatriates Affairs Abu Bakr al-Qirbi held a meeting, in with his Gulf counterparts to discuss a project presented by Yemen to integrate Yemen's economy with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy and its shares in the Yemeni development. The 26th Gulf summit, which was held in Abu Dhabi in December, discussed Yemen's project and approved a number of decisions in order to reinforce cooperation aspects between Yemen and GCC. It called Gulf funds to hold a meeting in Yemen to evaluate Yemen's development requirements to fulfill in a ten-year time. Worthy to mention, the 22nd Gulf summit, which took place in Muscat 2001, approved Yemen's joining four Gulf authorities: Arab Education Office, Health Ministers Council, Labor and Social Affairs Ministers Council and Gulf Football Cup. In Riyadh Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr Abu Bakr Al Qirbi confirmed that the issues of the Yemeni expatriates and workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council's countries are in the top of the Yemeni leadership's care. He pointed out the Yemeni government pay attention for the Yemeni communities' residents abroad and spare no efforts to develop the communications tools that link them with their homeland in order to enable them participate in the economic and social development of Yemen. Al Qirbi made it clear, during his meeting with many top-officials of the Yemeni community in Riyadh, that his meeting with Foreign ministers of the GCC's countries formed a new era or beginning in the Yemeni-Gulf relations. He added that enhancing the economic relations with Gulf countries certainly would reflex its positive impacts over the Yemeni citizens inside Yemen and the Yemeni communities abroad. In Abu Dhabi GCC foreign ministers held here last night a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The joint communiqué issued at the end of the meeting highlighted the existing friendly relations between the GCC member states and the US. The two sides reiterated their inalienable stance against all forms of terrorism, and pledged to extend support to any regional or international effort for combating terrorism. They pointed out that realizing stability and prosperity in the Middle East would serve mutual interests and would further enhance the pillars of the global peace and security. As regards the situation in Iraq, the two sides underlined the importance of establishing a board-based government which represents the Iraqi factions so as to ensure the stability and unity of the country. On the situation in Lebanon they confirmed their keenness on boosting the political, economic and security stability of Lebanon and called for the preservation of Lebanon's unity, stability and sovereignty. They urged all concerned parties to adhere to the resolutions 1559, 1636 and 1644 issued by the UN's security council. On the Middle East, the two parties called for an effective and serious work for realizing a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East based on the resolutions of the international legitimacy and the Road Map. They hailed the speech delivered by President of the national Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas on Feb. 18, 2006, which reiterated adherence to the peaceful process with all of its requirements. The two sides urged the concerned parties to work for the implementation of the Road Map which paves the way for a settlement based on the establishment of two states as well as the establishment of an independent, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state. The two sides expressed concern and anxiety over the proliferation of nuclear weapons in the region, and called for making the Gulf region free from weapons of mass-destruction. On the issue of energy, the two sides reiterated their keenness on existence of stable energy markets, and underscored the importance of the growth of the world economy.