Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz today presided over the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers and stated that raising to 90 the number of members of the Consultative Council (Majlis Al-Shura) was justified by the requirements of development and the need to provide adequate experts and specialists for the Council's increased number of ad hoc committees.

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsi reported that King Fahd briefed the cabinet on the new composition of the Shura Council for its second term, following the successful performance of its first term, and praised the excellent efforts made by the Council to serve the country and its citizens, referring to Saudi Arabia's deep-rooted experience of Shura, or consultation, ever since the Kingdom's founder King Abdul Aziz set up the First Shura Council under the aegis of the Islamic teachings that call for such a system.

The cabinet then passed a number of resolutions, including the formation, upon a recommendation made by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, of a National Commission, chaired by the Foreign Ministry with representation from the National Guard, and from the Ministries of Defense and Aviation, Interior, Commerce, Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Higher Education, Industry and Electricity, Health, Finance and National Economy, together with the Customs Department and the King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, for the purpose of working as a national center for effective communication with the Organization Against Chemical Weapons and other concerned bodies.   In addition, the cabinet endorsed, in accordance with a recommendation by the Minister of Posts, Telephones and Telegraphs which was approved by the Shura Council, resolutions adopted by the conference of the Universal Postal Union in Seoul in 1994 including the fifth additional protocol of UPU's constitution, as well as the general system of the UPU;  and a royal decree has been issued accordingly.

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