Jeddah: His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, chaired the Cabinet session held in Jeddah on Tuesday.
At the outset of the session, HRH the Crown Prince expressed gratitude and thanks to Allah Almighty for granting the Kingdom the honor of serving the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque.
He also expressed gratitude and thanks to Allah Almighty for His favor and success in organizing the Hajj and Umrah seasons, and for harnessing the highest capabilities and resources to provide the best services to the pilgrims, ensuring their comfort and safety.
He expressed his appreciation for the blessed efforts and outstanding work during this year’s Hajj season to facilitate the pilgrims, enabling them to perform and complete their rituals in comfort and peace. He prayed to Allah Almighty to accept the Hajj of the pilgrims and the good deeds of all Muslims.
Afterwards, the Cabinet reviewed the content of the discussions a
nd communications that took place in recent days between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and various brotherly and friendly countries, which aimed to strengthen relationships and develop cooperation in various fields to serve mutual interests and benefits.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the Cabinet session, Minister of Education and acting Minister of Media Yousef bin Abdullah Al-Benyan indicated that the Cabinet reviewed the outcomes of the Kingdom’s participation in several regional and international gatherings.
Al-Benyan stated that such participation came in line with the Kingdom’s commitment to supporting multilateral approaches and collective efforts aimed at resolving crises in the region and the world, achieving international security and stability, and creating conditions conducive to development and prosperity.
The Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom’s vigorous efforts, in cooperation with its brothers, on both political and humanitarian fronts to halt Israeli aggression against
the Palestinian people.
The Cabinet also noted the Kingdom’s international efforts to support initiatives aimed at gaining further global recognition of the State of Palestine, as well as its ongoing provision of relief aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
Regarding domestic affairs, the Cabinet highlighted the launch of the Geographic Survey Project for Renewable Energy sites in the Kingdom, which is considered the first of its kind globally.
The project reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to achieving ambitious national targets in renewable energy production, contributing to the optimal energy mix for electricity generation and displacing liquid fuel use, and supporting the Kingdom’s goal of exporting electric power and producing clean hydrogen.
The minister explained that the Cabinet has underscored that the awarding of contracts for the second phase of the Jafurah natural-gas field project development program and the third phase of the main gas network expansion project in the Kingdom all comes within th
e context of continuing development and economic diversification efforts, utilizing the comparative advantages that the Kingdom enjoys, and strengthening its leadership position in global energy markets.
The Cabinet appreciated the new discoveries of oil and natural gas made by the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco) in the Eastern Region and the Empty Quarter.
The Cabinet commended the progresses and successes the Human Capability Development Program and National Industrial Development and Logistics Program have achieved and their contributions to enhancing the Kingdom’s global competitiveness and its status as a leading international industrial powerhouse and logistics hub.
The minister indicated that the Cabinet noted the results listed in the World Competitiveness Yearbook Report for 2024, regarding the Kingdom’s advancement to the 16th rank among the most competitive countries in the world, and its achievement of the first positions in a number of sub-indexes, supported by improved business legis
lation and infrastructure, a thriving economy, and a society that interacts with the world.
The Cabinet considered the Education and Training Evaluation Commission’s achievement of full membership in the Seoul Accord as the first organization in the Arab world and the entire Middle East to obtain membership as a reaffirmation of the excellence of the Saudi model in the quality of university education internationally, and a reflection of the special attention the State pays to this sector and its development.
The Cabinet was briefed on the topics on its agenda, some co-studied by the Shura Council, as well as on the conclusions reached by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, the Council for Political and Security Affairs, the Cabinet’s General Committee and the Cabinet’s Bureau of Experts.
The Cabinet issued the following decisions:
First: Authorizing the Minister of Energy, or a deputy, to discuss with the Kyrgyzstani side a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan on cooperation in energy, and to sign it.
Second: Authorizing the Minister of the Interior, or a deputy, to discuss with the Uzbek side a draft cooperation agreement on using and replacement of driving licenses between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and to sign it.
Third: Authorizing the Minister of Foreign Affairs, or a deputy, to negotiate with the Montenegrin side regarding a draft general cooperation agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of Montenegro, and to sign it.
Fourth: Authorizing the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, or a deputy, to negotiate with the Jordanian side regarding a draft MoU between the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Environment in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in the field of environment and its conservation, and to si
gn it.
Fifth: Approving an MoU between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Mines and Geology in the Republic of Senegal, for cooperation in the field of mineral resources.
Sixth: Approving an MoU between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the Arab Republic of Egypt, for cooperation in the field of mineral resources.
Seventh: Authorizing the Minister of Health, or a deputy, to negotiate with the Egyptian side regarding a draft MoU between the Minister of Health and the Ministry of Health and Population in the Arab Republic of Egypt, for cooperation in the health fields, and to sign it.
Eighth: Approving the joining of the Saudi Tourism Authority as an affiliated member in the World Tourism Organization.
Ninth: Authorizing the Minister of Economy and Planning, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), o
r a deputy, to negotiate with the Finnish side regarding a draft MoU between GASTAT and Statistics Finland in the Republic of Finland, for cooperation in the field of statistics, and to sign it.
Tenth: Authorizing the Minister of Culture, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the King Salman Global Academy for Arabic Language (KSGAAL), or a deputy, to discuss with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretariat General’s Center for Translation, Arabization, and the Promotion of Arabic regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the academy and the GCC center, to cooperate in the field of serving the Arabic language, and to sign it.
Eleventh: Approving a cooperation agreement between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the African Organization for Standardization (ARSO), in the field of clean fuel solutions for food provision.
Twelfth: Approving the new social-insurance system for new workers, and continuing the application of the provisions of the civil retirement and social-insurance systems to curren
t subscribers, with the exception of the provisions related to the statutory retirement age and the qualifying period for pension entitlement for some categories.
Thirteenth: Approving the renewal of the duration of the National Program for Community Development in Regions (Tanmiah) for seven years.
Fourteenth: Approving the draft document for the privatization of 14 sports clubs, and granting the Supervisory Committee for Privatization in the Sports Sector the authority to issue approvals for the privatization of sports clubs of the grades: professional, first, second, third, and fourth.
Fifteenth: Approving the final accounts of the General Food Security Authority (GFSA), the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), and the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) for previous financial years.
Source: Saudi Press Agency