JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, yesterday allocated SR213.56 million to tackle landslides in the mountainous areas of Jizan, the Saudi Press Agency said. It also instructed the Transport Ministry to conduct studies on constructing two major roads in Jizan.
The Cabinet meeting also approved two agreements with Yemen for judicial and air transport cooperation. According to the judicial agreement, Saudi and Yemeni citizens living in the two countries will receive judicial assistance in civil, commercial, administrative and other matters. The agreement also covers the exchange of information on training judges and visits by judicial delegations.
State Minister for Shoura Affairs and Acting Information Minister Saud Al-Muthami said King Abdullah earlier briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Jordan's King Abdallah. The Cabinet also hoped that the election of Asif Ali Zardari as president of Pakistan would strengthen the country's security and stability.
The Cabinet urged all government and private agencies to mobilize their resources in the service of the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who come for Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan. It also approved the extension of the concession held by US oil giant Chevron in the neutral zone shared with Kuwait.
Other decisions taken by the Cabinet were: Endorsement of an agreement with Turkey to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion; the finance minister was authorized to sign an accord with Holland to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion; the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation has been linked directly with the Council of Health Services; and Hashim bin Ali Hamza was appointed assistant deputy minister for expatriate workers at the Labor Ministry and Fareed Kamil Azhar and Hani Ameen Sindi ministers plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.
