The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the weekly Cabinet session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh today. He began with a briefing on his interactions last week with foreign officials, including a message he received from Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and an audience he held for Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde.

Focusing on developments in the Arab world, the Cabinet listened to a report on the deliberations of the Security Council regarding the situation in Syria. The ministers stressed that the failure of the Security Council to issue a resolution supporting the Arab Peace Initiative should not preclude it from taking decisive action to protect innocent lives and to end the violence that threatens both the Syrian people and the stability of the entire region. They appealed to the international community to exert sincere efforts to find a solution to this crisis, which has led to hundreds of deaths and may lead to a humanitarian disaster.

Turning to domestic affairs, the Cabinet lauded the ongoing preparations for the opening of the 27th National Festival for Heritage and Culture in Janadriyah, to be patronized by King Abdullah and organized by the National Guard. It welcomed the royal decree issued by King Abdullah to cancel the musical operetta and national dance sections of the opening ceremony, in solidarity with the people of Syria, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Tunisia.

The Cabinet also hailed the opening of the symposium on “Humanitarian and Social Aspects in History of King Abdulaziz” and the launching of the Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Chair for Historical and Civilization Studies of the Arabian Peninsula at King Saud University (KSU).

Addressing its remaining agenda items, the Cabinet approved three memoranda of understanding with Lebanon, Andorra, and Estonia regarding cooperation in exchanging financial data related to money laundering and terror-financing; authorized the Minister of Commerce and Industry to sign a draft technical cooperation program agreement in the field of standardization between the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO) and the Qatari Ministry of Environment; approved a scientific and educational memorandum of cooperation between the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education and the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture; accredited the final account of the King Fahd Causeway Authority for fiscal year 1431/1432 H.; and approved the establishment of the Saudi Association for Aquaculture.

The Cabinet approved the appointments of Dr. Abdulaziz bin Oboud as Emir of the First Regiment at the National Guard (15th rank); Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sehaibani as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Hazza Al-Mutairi as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Sami bin Ahmad Abed as Undersecretary of the Mayor of Jeddah for Reconstruction and Projects at the Jeddah Governorate (14th rank).