The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz this afternoon chaired the Cabinet's session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh. At the outset, King Salman expressed his thanks to the leaders of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for their efforts in the 15th Consultative Meeting.

King Salman commended the participation of French President Francois Hollande as the first guest of honor at the consultative summit, stressing that the participation of the French President embodied the strong relations between the GCC and France.

The king briefed the Cabinet on the telephone call he received from King Abdullah II of Jordan and his talks with Niger President Issoufou Mahamadou and his meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. King Salman commended the U.S. positions and its support for initiatives aimed at achieving security and stability in the region. King Salman hope that the US-GCC Summit contributes to enhancing close relations, coordination and cooperation between the GCC and the US and promote regional security and stability in region.

The Council of Ministers reviewed a number of reports on the latest regional and internationals developments, including the latest developments in Yemeni. The Cabinet stressed the importance of committing to the humanitarian crease-fire, which will begin on Tuesday, to safeguard the relief operations in Yemen. The Cabinet also said it welcomed the proposed Yemeni all party conference in Riyadh under the umbrella of GCC.

The Cabinet condemned the Houthi militia’s Katyusha and mortar attacks on civilian targets in Najran and Jizan and commended the swift Saudi Armed Forces’ response to these attacks.

The Cabinet reiterated the determination of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its intention firmly to continue its efforts to combat terrorism and its financing, praising in this context the Kingdom's hosting of the second meeting of the working group for combating the financing of the ISIS terrorist organization under the patronage of the Crown Prince, noting that the meeting reflects the extent of interest of the international community to combat terrorism and its financing and being aware of the risks that threaten the security of all human societies.

The Cabinet then approved the following: authorized the Minister of Justice, or his deputy, to negotiate and sign a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the judicial and legal field with Afghanistan; the application of the resolution of the GCC Supreme Council in its 34th which was held in Kuwait on December 10-11, 2013, on the approval of Manama Document for GCC Unified Judicial Authority Law as a guide regulation for four years to be automatically renewable in case of absence of any observations by the Member States and the guide strategy's document of GCC e-Government; authorized the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or his deputy, to negotiate and sign a draft general agreement for cooperation with Niger; and a Ministry of Transport's recommendation to join the 1988 protocol regarding the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974.

The Cabinet approved a new, the Princess Nora bint Abdulrahman for Females Excellence, to be awarded for theoretical studies in literature, humanitarian studies, natural science, health science, as well as social works, economic projects, charity and technical works.