JEDDAH, 28 May — The Council of Ministers meeting under the chairmanship of Prince Abdullah, the regent, yesterday took four important decisions to strengthen cooperation with neighboring Yemen. The decisions come ahead of a meeting of the Saudi-Yemeni Coordination Council, which is expected to be held in Riyadh shortly. Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, will head the Saudi side during the meeting.
The Cabinet meeting also denounced Israel’s continuing brutal military campaigns in the Palestinian territories and said the continuation of violence will not help the ongoing efforts to establish peace in the region.
Prince Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of Sunday’s consultative GCC summit in Jeddah. He said the summit reflected the GCC leaders’ resolve to strengthen the six-member organization.
Referring to the decisions on strengthening ties with Yemen, Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet authorized Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to sign a memorandum of understanding with his Yemeni counterpart to promote coordination and cooperation between the two foreign ministries.
Al-Farsy said the Cabinet authorized the posts, telegraphs and telephones minister to sign an agreement with his Yemeni counterpart during the coordination council meeting for cooperation in posts.
The Cabinet also endorsed two accords with Yemen for transportation by land and sea. The two agreements were signed in Sanaa on June 21 last year. Saudi Arabia and Yemen signed a landmark border accord on June 12, 2000, opening a new chapter in bilateral relations. The two countries have signed a contract worth $986 million with German firm Hansa Luftbild to mark their common border.
Speaking on the GCC meeting, Prince Abdullah said the meeting discussed all matters related to strengthening cooperation among the member states as well as major regional and international issues.
Referring to the Middle East situation, the Cabinet lambasted Israel’s incursions into a number of Palestinian cities and killings of innocent Palestinian civilians and destruction of Palestinian houses and properties.
"The continuation of violence will not help the efforts to establish peace and will obstruct the Palestinian Authority from discharging its duty of protecting security and stability," Al-Farsy quoted the Cabinet as saying.
The Cabinet allowed the General Investment Authority (GIA) to make use of the skilled workers of the Saudi Consulting House and the secretariat for foreign investment at the Ministry of Industry and Electricity. Accordingly, the GIA jobs will be subject to the rules and regulations of the new labor and social insurance systems.
Meanwhile, Prince Abdullah opened the new royal terminal at the Riyadh Air Base Airport yesterday. The function was attended by Prince Sultan, other princes and high-ranking military and civilian officials. The terminal, which can accommodate about 500 people, was built at a cost of SR160 million.
