JEDDAH, 5 February 2008 — The Council of Ministers yesterday approved the establishment of an endowment fund to provide health care services. It will finance preventive health care programs and health research to combat and treat diseases.
“The fund is aimed at encouraging charitable activities and voluntary services in the health sector as well as promoting health care as an important area for charitable work,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
The fund’s financial resources will come from donations, properties, sukuk and stocks given by philanthropists and businessmen, revenues from investment projects and returns from operating health facilities, apart from contributions from the state in the form of cash and land.
“The fund will boost health services and lead to the establishment of more health centers and hospitals in the country,” Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani, spokesman of the Health Ministry, told Arab News.
Mirghalani confirmed that his ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance to set up the endowment.
Speaking to SPA after the Cabinet meeting in Riyadh, Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said Saudi Arabia would continue its efforts to strengthen unity among Arab and Islamic countries and settle differences between them.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, took a number of other important decisions. It decided to establish diplomatic relations with Barbados, El Salvador, Dominican Republic and Liechtenstein. Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has been authorized to sign protocols to establish diplomatic ties with these countries at the level of non-resident ambassadors.
The meeting authorized the interior minister or his deputy to sign an agreement with South Korea on fighting crime. It also approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Supreme Commission for Tourism and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The Cabinet appointed Ziyad ibn Hamoud Al-Zahrani, petroleum adviser at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Hamad ibn Abdullah Al-Moussa, administrative adviser at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, and Abdul Aziz ibn Saud Al-Melaifi, director of administrative and financial affairs at the Interior Ministry.
Madani said the Cabinet commended the role of the King Abdul Aziz & His Companions Foundation for the Gifted in encouraging talented people and developing their capabilities. “It will boost human capital and promote the knowledge economy,” it added.
Meanwhile, King Abdullah donated SR10 million to the newly constituted Consumer Protection Association, Commerce and Industry Minister Dr. Hashim Yamani said yesterday. Crown Prince Sultan gave SR5 million to the association, he said.
