October 13, 2006

THE CABINET AFFIRMS THE KINGDOM'S PRINCIPLED STANDS ON SUPPORTING SECURITY, PEACE AND PROSPERITY OF LEBANON; ON URGING PALESTINIAN LEADERSHIPS TO UNIFY THEIR RANKS AND WORK TOGETHER TO ADVANCE A REAL PEACE PROCESS IN PALESTINE AND ON SUPPORTING IRAQ'S UNITY. THE CABINET LICENSES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 13 STOCK COMPANIES FOR COOPERATIVE INSURANCE AND PARCEL DELIVERIES. THE CABINET APPROVES CONDITIONS AND REGULATIONS CONCERNING ACCEPTANCE OF DONATIONS OF BODY ORGANS BY NON-RELATIVE LIVING DONORS. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz chaired the Cabinet's weekly session at Al-Salam palace in Jeddah. At the outset of the session, the Monarch briefed the Cabinet on contacts, meetings and consultations held over the previous days. The King lauded in this regard his meeting with Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Jeddah and the importance of relations between the Kingdom and Turkey as the two countries are bound by religion, culture and joint understanding of the issues of the region and the world. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, The Minister of Culture And Information Iyad Bin Amin Madani said that the Cabinet reviewed the contents of consultative meeting between the foreign ministers of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Egypt and Jordan and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Cairo. The Cabinet affirmed the Kingdom's principled stands on supporting security, peace and prosperity of Lebanon; on urging Palestinian leaderships to unify their ranks and work together to advance a real peace process in Palestine; on supporting Iraq's unity and on confronting attempts to divide, disintegrate and change the demographic structure of its major cities. Then the Monarch addressed the Cabinet on Allah's blessings and rewards in the holy month of Ramadan and its last ten days, calling on all Muslims to get benefit of the blessings. The King also stressed that the actions of all officials should commensurate with the sanctity of these blessed days particularly those officials in charge of Islamic call, guidance and media affairs. The Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet then reviewed the local items on its agenda and issued the following decisions: Upon recommendations of the Minister of Commerce and Industry, the Cabinet licensed the establishment of 13 stock companies for cooperative insurance as well as "Nafel" company as a stock company which will serve its customers in the fields of post and parcel delivery inside and outside the Kingdom, cargo and customs clearance services and the like. The Cabinet approved a bill submitted by the Shoura Council on state leasing and evacuating of real estate. According to the system, government bodies are not allowed to lease real estates unless deemed necessary. Otherwise, the real estate should not be owned by a leasing body personnel and the initial leasing period should not exceed three years, extendable to 12 years. The Cabinet approved conditions and regulations submitted by the minister of health concerning acceptance of donations of body organs by non-relative living donors. If the donation is legally applicable, its owner is to be compensated SR 50,000 for an organ or part of an organ of his body, the Cabinet reported. Upon recommendations of the minister of commerce and industry, three businessmen were appointed as members of the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Standard Organization for three years, effective the date of implementing the decision. They are Eng. Hussein Bin Hasan Abu-Da'ood, Abdullah Bin Abdullatif Al Jabur and Dr. Fahd Bin Salih Al Sultan.