- Riyadh, January 18, 2010

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

  At the outset of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Cabinet on the talks, contacts, meetings and consultations that took place during the past few days with a number of leaders of brotherly and friendly countries and their envoys on regional and international developments. The King briefed the Cabinet on the talks he held with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad during his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in addition to the telephone calls he received from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and Guinea-Bissau's President Malam Bacai.

  The King also briefed the Cabinet on the talks he held with the Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamed Najib bin Abdul Razak and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in addition to his meetings with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Jordanian Health Minister Naif Al-Fayez, US National Security Advisor General James Jones and Head of British Secret Intelligence Service Sir John Sawers.

  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 Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques praised these meetings and consultations, stressing that what has been discussed reflects the depth of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and brotherly and friendly countries as well as the keenness on achieving security and stability in the region and the world.

  Dr. Khoja also said that the Cabinet listened to a number of reports on international events, expressing in this regard the condolences of Saudi government and people to Haiti's President and people on the victims of the earthquake.

  On domestic affairs, the Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohieddin Khoja said the Cabinet addressed some of the activities and achievements in the field of sciences, economy and culture which the Kingdom witnessed during the last week. Also, the Cabinet expressed satisfaction over the report by the Global Rating Agency (Fitch) which confirmed the strength of the Kingdom's economy as well as the Kingdom's proper management of its foreign investments and reserves of foreign exchange. The Cabinet emphasized that this was achieved in accordance with the fiscal and monetary policy pursued by the wise government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in spite of the global financial crisis.

Dr. Khoja said that the Cabinet reviewed a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions:

  The Cabinet authorized the Foreign Minister (or his deputy) to discuss with the Qatari side a draft agreement and its implementing annex on diplomatic and consular cooperation between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Qatar; and sign them.

  The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on political consultation and coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar which was signed in Riyadh on 16/12/2008.

  The Cabinet approved the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Kingdom of Cambodia, authorizing the Foreign Minister (or his deputy) to sign a protocol on this issue.

  The Cabinet approved a cooperation agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the government of the Republic of Turkey in the field of Youth and Sports which was signed in Riyadh on 03/02/2009.

  The Cabinet approved a number of decisions as regards encouraging students to attend universities, private colleges and parallel education in addition to reviewing the measures for applying for scholarships in all disciplines.

  The Cabinet appointed Suleiman bin Mohammed bin Suleiman Al-Jurayysh as Undersecretary of the Governorate (rank 15) at Madinah Region Governorate. The Cabinet approved the transfer of Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Abdulaziz Al-Mulaifi from his position as Director General of Administrative and Financial Affairs (rank 14) to his new position as Administrative Advisor at the same rank at the Ministry of Interior.