JEDDAH, 7 December 2004 — The Council of Ministers yesterday denounced the terrorist attack on the American Consulate in Jeddah and said the Kingdom was determined to root out terrorism by tracking down all terror suspects.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, commended the efforts of Saudi security forces in combating terrorism and preserving the country’s security and stability.
“At the outset of the meeting today, the Cabinet expressed its condemnation over the terrorist attack on the American consulate in Jeddah,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Culture and Information Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy as saying after the weekly meeting in Riyadh.
“Saudi Arabia will go ahead with its fight against all forms of terrorism and will track down all terror suspects in order to rid the society of them,” Al-Farsy said quoting a statement issued by the Cabinet.
Prince Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Jordan’s King Abdallah. He said the talks focused on major international issues including the situation in Iraq and Palestinian developments.
“The Cabinet expressed its deep sorrow over the killing of innocent people and destruction of infrastructure in Iraq and urged all the Iraqis to work together to get out of the present difficult situation and restore security and stability” in the war-torn country, Al-Farsy said.
While discussing developments in Palestine, the Cabinet expected a smooth transfer of power there, strengthening Palestinian unity and legitimacy.
The Cabinet also hoped that the quartet countries including the United States, Britain and Russia would continue their efforts to revive the Middle East peace process on the basis of the road map, SPA said.
The Cabinet meeting also approved the agreement with Azerbaijan for the promotion and protection of investments. It authorized Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf or his deputy to sign the accord.
The meeting endorsed new regulations allowing the private sector to produce and market supportive educational materials. However, it insisted that such materials should not contain anything that violates Shariah or state policies.
“Anybody found publishing any educational material without obtaining a license will be fined a maximum of SR200,000 and such materials will be banned,” Al-Farsy said quoting the regulations.
The Cabinet appointed Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al-Subail director general of municipal councils affairs at the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs; Dr. Jameel ibn Mahmoud Mardad ambassador at the Foreign Ministry; Saud ibn Ali Al-Abdul Aziz assistant undersecretary for sports affairs, and Fahd ibn Muhammad Al-Qahtani director of administrative and financial affairs at the Youth Welfare Presidency.
