JEDDAH, 30 December 2003 — Saudi Arabia has made premarital health checks mandatory on its citizens. The decision, taken by the Council of Ministers yesterday, will come into effect at the beginning of next Hijrah year (Feb. 21, 2004).
“The Cabinet agreed to apply the health regulations for marriage to all Saudis; the couple getting married must produce a medical certificate before concluding the marriage contract,” the Saudi Press Agency reported.
However, the Cabinet said couples would be allowed to go ahead with their marriage regardless of the result of the checkup.
The Cabinet decision follows a nationwide campaign to promote premarital medical checkups to scan would-be partners for hereditary or contagious diseases.
A study on congenital blood diseases submitted to the Council of Ministers in 2002 concluded that 1.5 million Saudis had or were carriers of inherited blood diseases.
Border Accord
The Cabinet approved an agreement signed earlier this year with Yemen to combat cross-border arms smuggling and terrorism.
The pact to coordinate security on the border was signed in Riyadh on June 8 by Interior Minister Prince Naif and his Yemeni counterpart Rashad Al-Olaimi.
Prince Naif at the time expressed hope the agreement would “considerably limit terrorist activity and control smuggling operations.”
Al-Olaimi reiterated Yemen’s commitment to stop cross-border arms smuggling. “Combating smuggling requires huge resources and capabilities. We in Yemen are exerting tremendous efforts to combat smuggling and infiltration,” the Yemeni minister said after signing the accord.
GCC Summit
Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, who chaired the Cabinet meeting, briefed the ministers on the outcome of the two-day GCC summit in Kuwait and said the resolutions would strengthen the security and stability of the member states.
Culture and Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the crown prince also went over his consultations with world leaders last week on major international developments, most importantly the situation in occupied Palestine. Prince Abdullah denounced the Israeli aggression and the killing of Palestinian civilians.
$400 Million for Quake Victims
The Cabinet meeting conveyed its condolences to the Iranian people and government over losses in the massive earthquake in the southern Iranian city of Bam. Saudi Arabia has sent five planeloads of relief supplies for the quake victims.
GCC states yesterday agreed to send aid worth $400 million to the earthquake victims, according to Kuwaiti Finance Minister Mahmoud Al-Nouri.
Wheat Price
The Cabinet also allowed Saudi agricultural joint stock companies to supply 300,000 to 600,000 tons of wheat annually to the General Organization for Grain Silos and Flourmills. It fixed the price of wheat distributed by farmers and agricultural companies at SR1 per kilogram.
“The Finance Ministry will pay farmers immediately,” the SPA said quoting the Cabinet.
The Cabinet licensed Southern Cement Company to quarry limestone in Um Al-Araj in the Jizan region.
