The proposal containing 21 articles in four chapters was tabled by council members Mohammed bin Amin Jaafri, Fahad Al-Hamad, Mohammed Al-Ghowais and Abdullah Abdul Qadir on Sunday and was taken up for discussion yesterday.

Some of the members said expatriates should be allowed to become partners in projects of the proposed authority, while the other members said SMEs need not depend on foreign investments since the Saudi banks in the Kingdom have billions of riyals in their fixed deposits that could be given as loans for such projects.

The house felt such an authority should function independently and be funded by the government's general budget. The house postponed the discussion for a future date.

The house approved a draft memorandum of understanding on scientific and educational cooperation between the Kingdom and Ireland.

Members felt the draft memorandum is part of the efforts of the Ministry of Higher Education in building scientific and research relations and cultural ties with most of the relevant authorities in friendly countries to benefit from their experiences in relevant fields.

The agreement included mutual support and encouragement of relations between the two countries in the fields of science and education, exchange of experiences between higher education institutions and research centers, and increasing the number of Saudi students studying in Irish universities in the fields of medicine and medical science.

In a report submitted by the council's finance committee on the annual report of Saudi Customs, the house urged the department to seek cooperation from relevant authorities to chalk out a comprehensive plan to fight commercial fraud and smuggling of counterfeit goods.