The Cabinet meeting, which was presided over by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, highlighted the tremendous progress achieved by Saudi Arabia during the king’s six-year rule.

It noted the king’s endeavors to achieve greater development in all sectors, removing all obstacles that stand in the way of development projects.

The Cabinet underscored the giant economic and industrial projects ordered by King Abdullah as well as his recent decrees that unveiled new welfare schemes worth more than SR600 billion.

It also commended the king’s efforts to make use of the Kingdom’s international relations to mobilize support for Arab and Islamic causes and his humanitarian activities.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the meeting commended the Non-Aligned Movement conference in Indonesia for backing the Palestinian cause. It emphasized the need for more efforts to boost the peace process on the basis of international resolutions and enable the Palestinians to establish an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital.

He said the Cabinet endorsed an agreement with Uzbekistan for cooperation in combating terrorism, organized crimes and drug trafficking.

It authorized Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf to hold talks with his Moroccan counterpart to sign an agreement for customs cooperation. It also approved an agreement between Arab countries for goods transportation and another accord with the Indian Ministry of Information Technology for cooperation in IT and services.

The Cabinet appointed Saleh Al-Shurayan the director of financial and budgeting affairs at the Ministry of Defense and Aviation, Ali Al-Bakri planning expert at the Ministry of Economy and Planning and Yousuf Abu Aish and Turki Al-Madhi ministers plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry, the Saudi Press Agency said.