JEDDAH, 8 January — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd expressed satisfaction at the achievements of the 22nd Gulf summit in the Omani capital Muscat last month, which aimed at increasing the standard of living in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and security and stability in the region.
King Fahd, who chaired a weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh yesterday afternoon, expressed his appreciation of the immense efforts made by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, as the head of the Kingdom’s delegation, in making the summit a great success, Information Minister Fouad Al-Farsy said in a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the Cabinet meeting.
Leaders of the six-nation GCC signed an agreement in Muscat on Dec. 31 to unite their economies, starting with a joint five-percent customs tariff for 2003 and a single market by the end of the decade.
They have brought forward by two years the target for a customs union.
Economic experts described the new agreement as a qualitative leap forward strengthening the group’s position as regards the demands of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The customs accord is due to come into force on Jan. 1, 2003, according to a final statement from the two-day summit meeting in Oman.
A total of 53 essential foodstuffs and medicines are exempted from the import levy. The new currency would be launched by Jan. 1, 2010, at the latest.
The GCC also set up a committee of the six central bank governors to prepare for a single currency after all national currencies are pegged to the dollar within a year.
The council approved amendments to the charter of the Islamic Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization recommended by the minister of higher education, said Al-Farsy.
Another decision taken by the Cabinet was to accept the proposals of the Supreme Council for Petroleum and Mineral Affairs to annul an earlier decision on imposing tariffs on liquefied natural gas supplied to the local industries.
The information minister added that the council approved the final accounts of the Saudi Arabian Railways Organization for the financial year 1998. The report was submitted to the council by Minister of Communications Nasser Al-Salloum.
The Cabinet also ratified the final accounts of the Saudi Fund for Development for the financial year 1999.
The meeting designated Abdul Rahman Al-Muammar as the representative of the Interior Ministry to the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance in place of Abdul Jaleel Al-Saif who was appointed as a member of the Shoura Council.
The meeting also approved the use of gamma rays in food preservation, the information minister said.
