The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, backed a recent resolution taken by the GCC Ministerial Council that the GCC would stand jointly to confront any threats facing its member countries.

The GCC meeting, which was held in Manama on Thursday, said the security of GCC countries was an inseparable whole and that the member countries would abide by the joint security and defense accords. It stressed that any foreign intervention in Bahrain’s affairs was totally unacceptable.

The Cabinet meeting expressed concern over political developments in a number of Arab and Muslim countries and emphasized the need for tackling them wisely to safeguard the security and stability of those countries and the welfare of their peoples.

In this respect, Prince Sultan briefed the Cabinet on the content of a telephone conversation Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had with his Jordanian counterpart. King Abdullah had told the Jordanian king that the Kingdom would back his country.

The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s regret over a US veto on a Palestinian-Arab draft resolution presented to the UN Security Council late Friday that condemns Jewish settlements in occupied Palestinian territories. Saudi Arabia said the US move would encourage Israeli authorities to continue with their settlement policy, ignoring international resolutions.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet reviewed major development projects that are being implemented in various parts of the country as well as cultural and educational programs held in the Kingdom during the past week.

The Cabinet hoped that the international forum and exhibition on general education held in Riyadh recently would contribute to further improving the Kingdom’s educational standard.

Khoja said the Cabinet authorized Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif to hold talks with his Syrian counterpart to sign an agreement on the transfer of convicted prisoners.

The Cabinet also endorsed the charter of the International Energy Forum and authorized Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi to sign the charter during IEC’s ministerial conference in Riyadh on Feb. 22.

The Cabinet appointed Prince Abdul Aziz bin Badr bin Saud as director general of declared sources at the General Intelligence Department; Saud Al-Sadhan as director of administrative and financial affairs at the Interior Ministry; Adel Bakhsh as minister plenipotentiary; Muhammad Al-Qurashi as director of administrative and financial affairs at the Foreign Ministry; Ibrahim Al-Hozaimi as director for follow-up at the Education Ministry; and Nourah bint Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh as director of social supervision for women at the Ministry of Social Affairs.