The Cabinet on Monday reiterated the Kingdom’s stance that Bashar Assad and his regime should not have any role in the interim Syrian government. It also denounced the terrorist bombings in Egypt.

The Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, said the Geneva 2 conference should form the interim Syrian government, which should be allowed to work without any external interference.

The Cabinet said the terrorist bombings in Egypt that claimed many innocent lives was aimed at undermining the country’s security and stability. “The Egyptian government and people are capable of stopping these criminal acts, which have no relation whatsoever with Islam.”

The Cabinet commended the national consensus reached by the Yemeni National Dialogue Conference, congratulating Yemen's government and people on this historic achievement.

The Cabinet authorized Prince Salman to sign a draft agreement for defense cooperation with Ukraine and authorized the president of the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives to sign a draft agreement for cooperation with the Kuwaiti Center for Research and Studies.

The president of Youth Welfare Presidency has been assigned to sign an agreement with his Kyrgyz counterpart for cooperation in the field of youth and sports.

Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet commended the programs organized to celebrate the selection of Madinah as the capital of Islamic culture for 2013. It also welcomed the results of the eighth conference of OIC culture ministers in Madinah, which adopted a draft operational plan for King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue initiative.

The Cabinet endorsed the final account of the Saudi Fund for Development for 2011. It appointed Nasser bin Ali Al-Houti ambassador; Naif bin Dawoud Al-Rashid minister plenipotentiary at Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Sultan bin Shakhbout Al-Sultan assistant undersecretary for security affairs at the Tabuk governorate; Fahd bin Mohammed Al-Huthaili assistant undersecretary for consumer affairs at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry; and Ahmad bin Saad Al-Nassar director-general of the reports office at the General Auditing Bureau.