JEDDAH, 6 April 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday emphasized the need for an Arab summit as soon as possible to strengthen Arab unity and confront the challenges facing the Arab world. The Council of Ministers, which met in Riyadh yesterday under the chairmanship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, praised the efforts being made by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, to reconvene a summit.
Egypt has offered to host the summit which was scrapped by Tunisia two weeks ago in order to dispel the impression that Arab states are divided over the main topics on the agenda — Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a common response to the US campaign for Arab reform and democracy.
Prince Abdullah met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Sharm El-Sheikh last week and emphasized Riyadh’s support for an early summit. The crown prince also held talks with Moroccan King Muhammad VI on the issue.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet stressed the importance of creating a suitable atmosphere for the summit to take a united stand on issues concerning Arab countries.
The Cabinet also expressed its satisfaction over the outcome of Prince Abdullah’s visit to Austria, which the saw the signing of an agreement for economic, commercial, industrial and technical cooperation between the two countries, Al-Farsy said.
The Cabinet authorized the higher education minister or his deputy to sign an agreement with the Higher Education Board in the Philippines for scientific and educational cooperation. The meeting approved the rules and regulations governing the consultative committee for marine research.
The Cabinet approved the changes to Article 15 of the Saudi-Lebanese Economic and Commercial Agreement. According to the changes, the two-year agreement will be renewed automatically for a similar period if either party does not inform the other of its intention to end the agreement at least three-months before expiry.
The Cabinet appointed Prince Bandar ibn Mashari ibn Saud administrative adviser, Ali ibn Muhammad Al-Ghaleeqa adviser at the Defense and Aviation Ministry, Abdul Aziz ibn Ali Al-Abdul Kareem deputy minister for technical affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs, and Muhammad ibn Saad Al-Madhi at the Interior Ministry.
