JEDDAH, 30 September 2003 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd yesterday called upon Saudis to stand by the government in its efforts to stamp out terrorism and reinforce peace and stability in the country.
“The cohesion between Saudi Arabia’s leadership and people is enough to root out this wicked group,” the king said of the terrorists. He was addressing a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Riyadh.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet highlighted the significance of dialogue between cultures to promote global understanding and cooperation as well as to achieve world peace.
“Dialogue will also help prevent confrontation and encourage collaborative efforts to tackle problems,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted the Cabinet as saying.
The Cabinet statement was referring to a recent inter-faith congress held in the Kazakh capital of Astana. In his message to the conference, King Fahd said terrorism had no nationality and did not belong to any religion or culture. “It is a crime against humanity and goes against the teachings of all revealed religions,” he added.
Al-Farsy said the Cabinet meeting also condemned the continuing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people and leadership, including the destruction of their homes and property.
The Cabinet urged the international community to force Israel to respect international resolutions and implement the Middle East road map for peace.
The meeting also endorsed the new aviation safety rules approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization. It authorized the justice minister to hold talks with his Sudanese counterpart to sign an agreement for judicial cooperation.
The Cabinet agreed to increase grants to enable orphaned students and others to get married between SR20,000 and SR30,000.
The Labor and Social Affairs Ministry will make arrangements with charitable organizations to provide and furnish marital homes for those who receive such financial assistance, Al-Farsy said.
Meanwhile, the Shoura Council yesterday called for the construction of more technical colleges and vocational training institutes as well as for an expansion of the national program for joint and cooperative training.
The Shoura also emphasized the need to encourage the private sector to invest in technical education and training programs.
The meeting urged the General Organization for Technical Education and Vocational Training to study areas where it can provide training to women.
