Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense and Aviation Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud presided over the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers this afternoon, and commended the measures taken by Interior Minister Prince Naif Bin Abdul Aziz in response to the wise directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz concerning investigations into the criminal explosion in Riyadh on November 13.   Prince Sultan expressed appreciation to all the security forces for their constant concern in this matter, and referred to a statement made by an official source at the Ministry of Interior yesterday announcing the preparation of an identikit sketch of a suspect which has been distributed in the Kingdom and abroad by all the mass media, reaffirming the citizens’ resolve to preserve their security and that of the country.

Referring to recent events overseas, Prince Sultan expressed, on behalf of King Fahd, the Saudi people and the government, profound satisfaction over the conclusion of a Bosnian peace agreement ending the three-year-old war in the Balkan region and calling for a unified state in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Turning to the economy, Prince Sultan reaffirmed the Kingdom’s concern for the promotion of Saudi manpower and its contribution to social and economic development, underscoring the necessity of preparing a flexible work force able to cope with economic and technological changes and take into account the goal of increasing production to achieve the greatest possible revenue.   He noted the importance of training centers in upgrading capabilities, and expressed appreciation of the efforts being made by several public and private organizations such as the Public Administration Institute.

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsi reported that the cabinet expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the 14th Conference of GCC Defense Ministers which ended in Manama last Tuesday, adding that its positive and constructive results were highlighted as contributing to the reinforcement of military and defense cooperation among the six states and the primary target of realizing security and stability in the region.   Dr. Al-Farsi said that the cabinet also praised the outcome of a meeting of the Ministerial Council of OPEC which ended in Vienna last Thursday with a recommendation for an extension of the production quotas and ceilings agreed on earlier.

Dr. Al-Farsi, referring to the relevant recommendations, agreements, and royal decrees, reported that the Council of Ministers endorsed the transfer from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to the Ministry of Commerce, of the chairmanship of Saudi delegations on the following Joint Commissions:
- Saudi/Tunisian Commission for Economic Cooperation;

- Saudi/Turkish Commission for Economic and Trade Cooperation;
- Saudi/Bangladeshi Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation;
- Saudi/Greek Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation.

The cabinet also decided to transfer from the Ministry of Finance and National Economy to the Ministry of Commerce the following functions in accordance with the relevant agreements and royal decrees:

1. supervision of measures on membership of the Kingdom in the General Agreement of Tariff and Trade (GATT) and follow-up at both domestic and foreign levels.
2. the functions of the Saudi National Commission for Trade Financing formed according to Royal Decree #12766 dated 18/11/1313 H.
3. the functions of the standing committee for economic and commercial cooperation.

The cabinet also approved a recommendation presented by the Ministry of Industry and Electricity to enable the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) to reach an agreement with electric companies for the importation and sale of electric power.

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