The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz chaired the Cabinet session in Riyadh today. He began with a briefing on his recent foreign contacts, including meetings in Al-Janadriyah with Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khlaifah, UAE Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al-Nahayyan, French Minister of Culture Frederic Mitterrand and Director General of the United Nations Education, Sciences and Culture Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova.

The Cabinet praised the King for his support of Saudi cultural activities, including last week’s National Heritage and Culture Festival in Al-Janadriyah, as well as the awarding of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques International Prize for Translation and the establishment of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Culture and Heritage.

Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz then offered a report on his visit to Saudi troops stationed along the southern border of Jazan Province. He was followed by Second Deputy Prime Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, who gave a briefing on the 27th session of the Arab Interior Ministers Council held in Tunis last week, during which Saudi Arabia proposed an Arab Strategy for Intellectual Security. The Cabinet also reiterated its condemnation of Israel’s oppression of Palestinians in Jerusalem and called on the international community to intervene to save the peace process.

After reviewing its agenda, the Cabinet approved an agreement with the Swiss Federal Council regarding scheduled air transport services, signed in Jeddah on 04/07/2009; authorized the Interior Minister to sign a draft Arab Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and an Arab Convention against Corruption; approved the organization of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Arabic Language; authorized the Minister of Finance to sign draft agreements with Ireland and the Ukraine on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion; and authorized the President of the King Abdulaziz City for Sciences and Technology to sign a draft agreement with Ukraine for cooperation in the field of space research.

The Cabinet approved the appointments of Fareed Malki as Ambassador and Minister Plenipotentiary (14th rank) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Saud Al-Sati as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Nabil Ashri as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Saad Al-Hujaily as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs (14th rank) at the Ministry of Health.