- Riyadh, January 04, 2010, SPA

  The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet session at Al-Yamamah Palace here today.

  At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the consultations, contacts and meetings that took place during the past few days with a number of leaders of brotherly and friendly countries and their envoys on the latest developments in the region and the world, including his meetings with the Egyptian President Mohammed Hosni Mubarak, the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir who visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The King briefed the Cabinet on the message he received from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh as well as the meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Afghanistan's Second Vice-President Abdul Karim Khalili.

  In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the developments at Arab, Islamic and international arenas, stressing the Kingdom's position on them.

  In domestic affairs, Dr. Khojah said that the Cabinet discussed the economic activity of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia following the issuance of the State Budget for the fiscal year 2010. The budget took into account the needs of national economy and ensured the enhancement of sustainable development in the Kingdom. The Cabinet praised the new developmental programs and projects included in the budget as well as the additional phases of a number of projects previously approved with a cost of more than SR 260 billion.

  The Minister of Culture and Information said that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques urged once again the princes and ministers to strictly implement the programs and projects included in the budget.

  Dr. Khojah also said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of economic, scientific and cultural activities and events held in the Kingdom over the past few days.

The Minister of Culture and Information said the Cabinet discussed a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions:

  The Cabinet authorized the Second Deputy Premier and Interior Minister (or his deputy) to discuss with the concerned authorities of other states a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the exchange of financial intelligence on money laundering and terrorist financing; and sign it.

  The Cabinet approved a draft model agreement of cooperation in the fields of agriculture, livestock and fisheries between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other governments. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall report to the Cabinet on any State in which the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Finance recommend invest.

The Cabinet approved a number of controls and procedures as regards granting citizens residential lands in order to facilitate obtaining houses. These controls and procedures include the following:

1- Linking the grant program implemented by the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs with housing programs that ensure obtaining houses by the citizens.

2- Allocating lands to the Public Housing Authority in accordance with royal orders and applicable regulations, so that the Authority undertakes the construction of suitable housing units to be distributed to citizens according to the regulations and procedures established by the Authority.

Second: When allocating lands to the Authority, the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs shall take into account the following:

1- The lands should be part of the adopted government schemes.

2- The lands should be provided with services using the amounts approved in the budget or in accordance with the rules of the municipal properties disposition.

3- Such lands should be distributed in various parts of the city.

The Cabinet approved the formation of the Board of Directors of Makkah Development and Urban Regeneration Company for a period of three years, as follows:

First: Representatives of government bodies:

1- Dr. Osama bin Fadhel Al-Barr, the Mayor of Makkah City, as Chairman.

2- Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al-Aql, the representative of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, as Member.

3- Dr. Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Khudairi, the representative of Makkah Region Governorate, as Member.

4- Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Muqaiteeb, the representative of the Ministry of Finance, as Member.

5- Hassan bin Fadhel Aqeel, the representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, as Member.

6- Dr. Farouk bin Mohammed Mufti, the representative of the Makkah and Holy Sites Development Commission, as Member.

Second: Representatives of private sector:

1- Dr. Majdi bin Mohammed Hariri, as Member.

2- Eng. Anas bin Mohammed Sairafi, as Member.

3- Mansour bin Abdullah bin Saeed, as Member.

4- Eng. Saleh bin Salem bin Mahfouz, as Member.

5- Mazen bin Mohammed Batterjee, as Member.

The Cabinet approved the restructuring of the Board of Directors of Jeddah Development and Urban Regeneration Company for a period of three years as of 08/02/1431 AH, as follows:

First: Representatives of government bodies:

1- Eng. Adel bin Mohammed Fakih, the Mayor of Jeddah Governorate, as Chairman.

2- Abdulrahman bin Mohammed Al-Dahmash, the representative of the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, as Member.

3- Dr. Sami bin Yassin Barhameen, the representative of the Makkah Region Governorate, as Member.

4- Abdulaziz bin Saad Al-Ghamdi, the representative of the Ministry of Finance, as Member.

5- Hassan bin Fadhel Aqeel, the representative of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry as Member.

6- Dr. Riad bin Kamal Najem, the representative of the Ministry of Culture and Information, as Member.

Second: Representatives of private sector:

1- Ibrahim bin Mohammed Al-Essa, as Member.

2- Eng. Mohammed bin Hassan Abu Dawood, as Member.

3- Musa bin Omran Al-Omran, as Member.

4- Ahmed bin Sulaiman Banaja, as Member.

5- Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ali Talmasani, as Member.

  The Cabinet appointed Bakry bin Saleh bin Abu Bakr Shatta and Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdullah Al-Zamil as members of the Board of Directors of the National Housing Authority for a period of three years.

The Cabinet approved a number of appointments in the fourteenth rank as follows:

1- Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Mohammed bin Zaid as Adviser for Security Affairs at the Ministry of Interior.

2- Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh as Assistant Undersecretary for Printing and Translation at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance.

3- Yahya bin Ahmed bin Aidha Al-Zahrani as Assistant Undersecretary for Welfare Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs.

4- Dr. Abdulaziz bin Saleh bin Abdullah Al-Aqeel as Assistant Undersecretary for Internal Information at the Ministry of Culture and Information.