Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz yesterday chaired the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers and stated the Kingdom's full support for the outcome of the 17th Summit Conference of the Gulf Cooperation Council, commending the efforts being made to make the GCC an influential power for regional and Arab solidarity, and praising the resolutions adopted by the GCC Supreme Council as "the basic pillar for strengthening the GCC as a Gulf Arab and Islamic entity". King Fahd pointed out that the meetings of the GCC leaders were characterized by the importance given to greater cooperation, with the aim of reinforcing perspectives held in common in order to realize the targeted goals and overcome the challenges facing the Arab arena.

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsi reported that King Fahd declared the 17th GCC summit which ended in Doha earlier yesterday, as enriching Gulf solidarity, with results that will have positive impact on the peoples of the member states, and highlighted the role of Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, who had conveyed to the summit the position of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

King Fahd then reviewed with the cabinet reports submitted by the concerned authorities on the impact of the torrential rain which recently lashed Makkah Province, stressing the necessity of repairing the damage as soon as possible to preserve lives and property, as well as of intensifying awareness campaigns among the citizens on the dangers of floods. King Fahd also discussed the standard of living of the Saudi people, noting that the priority is to enable citizens to work and to be productive in order to provide them with greater comfort, peace and security.

Turning to the Palestinian question, King Fahd briefed the cabinet on the outcome of his talks with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat who visited the Kingdom recently, and reiterated Saudi Arabia's commitment to supporting the process of comprehensive and just peace on all Arab tracks. King Fahd also briefed the cabinet on his talks last week with U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry. He then went on to reaffirm the Saudi position on the Bosnian question, and the Saudi support for the Bosnian people in the light of the Dayton Agreement.

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