Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz began the Cabinet meeting in Riyadh today by expressing gratitude for the recovery of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who was recently discharged from New York Presbyterian hospital following successful back surgery.

After listening to a number of reports on regional and international developments, the Cabinet renewed the Kingdom’s condemnation of last week’s terrorist bombing in Alexandria, Egypt. The ministers offered their condolences to President Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian people and the families of the victims and wished the injured speedy recoveries. The Cabinet also expressed hope that the Iraqi people will achieve security, stability, independence, national unity and development under their new government, while preserving Iraq’s Islamic and Arab identity.

On the domestic front, the Cabinet reviewed the Kingdom’s newly issued budget for the current fiscal year (1432/1433), highlighting the many developmental programs and projects included. Then, the ministers reviewed the most recent conferences, symposia and religious, scientific, cultural, economic and social activities held in the Kingdom, including the 32nd King Abdulaziz International Competition for Holy Quran Memorization, the 20th Session of the Islamic Fiqh Academy at the Muslim World League (MWL), the 6th Community and Security Symposium held under the theme of “Security Awareness in the General Education Curriculum,” the 1st International Conference on the Efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Service of Islamic Issues, and the Exhibition of Saudi Arabia’s Manuscript Heritage.

Turning to its weekly agenda, the Cabinet authorized the Foreign Minister to sign a draft mutual agreement on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic or official passports with Germany, Italy, Spain and other countries with which the Kingdom has special relations and approved an agreement for mutual exemption from customs duties and taxes on the activities of air transport enterprises, as well as the schedule of items exempted from customs annexed to an agreement signed in Addis Ababa on 11/13/2009.

The Cabinet approved the membership of the Supreme Commission for Labor Disputes Settlement to include: Ibrahim Al-Qudhaibi (President); Misfer Al-Khathami; Abdulaziz Al-Abdullatif; Ahmed Al-Saleh; Mansour Al-Mahmadde; Hassan Al-Thubaiti; Mohammed Al-Sulaiman; Sahl Al-Mutalq; Abdulaziz Al-Furaidi; Mohammed Al-Shaibani; Khalid Al-Qurashi; and Mohammed Al-Thaqafi.