JEDDAH, 8 May — Saudi Arabia called on all peace-loving countries to make sincere efforts to end Israeli aggression on Palestinians and its delaying tactics in peace efforts. The Council of Ministers which met here yesterday warned that Israeli refusal to comply with the international resolutions and implement signed agreements will only lead to destabilizing the region and perpetuation of violence.
This was stated by Information Minister Fuad Al-Farsi in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency after the meeting. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, who chaired the regular meeting of the Council of Ministers held at Al-Salam Palace, referred to how the Kingdom and other peace-loving countries are unanimous on the necessity of putting an end to Israel’s injustices against the Palestinian people, protecting them against aggression and exerting more efforts at international level to achieve a comprehensive peace.
Israel was showing its real face by defying the international will and committing massacres on a daily basis in the Palestinian territories, Al-Farsi said. The Council approved the joint defense pact singed by the Gulf Cooperation Council in Manama on Dec. 31, 2000, Al-Farsi said.
The Council also decided to do away with a requirement that imports must be ordered by firms owned by Gulf citizens in order to qualify for preferential treatment in the GCC’s tariff regime.
Instead, it decided that products imported into the Kingdom from fellow GCC members must have at least 40 percent local added value to enjoy preferential tariffs, the information minister said.
The Council decided to continue the practice of spending the amount of compensation for mosques without title deeds to construct new mosques.
Earlier in the meeting, the king briefed the Council on the contents of the messages, contacts and meetings held recently between Kingdom’s officials and a number of Arab and other friendly countries.
These contacts and meetings came within the framework of continual consultation between the Kingdom and various countries with which it has had excellent bilateral relations.
