JEDDAH, 24 February 2004 — Saudi Arabia yesterday welcomed the recent agreement between India and Pakistan on a road map for peace between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
The weekly Council of Ministers meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, also voiced Riyadh’s strong opposition to the “racist separation wall” being constructed by Israel in the West Bank.
The Kingdom has already submitted a memorandum to the International Court of Justice.
About a dozen countries including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Algeria were to present oral arguments in support of the Palestinian position.
The Cabinet meeting in Riyadh denounced the ongoing Israeli aggression toward the Palestinian people and urged the international community to take a firm line against Israeli moves to abort all peace initiatives.
Prince Abdullah offered his best wishes to the Islamic world on the occasion of the new Hijrah year and expressed his hope that the new year would bring peace, justice and stability to Muslim countries and the whole world.
The crown prince briefed the ministers on the outcome of his recent talks with Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Riyadh, which focused on major international issues and ways of strengthening bilateral ties. The Cabinet endorsed an agreement with Sanaa for cooperation in tourism.
The meeting also reshuffled the Food and Drugs Commission. Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, chairs the new 13-member body, and its members include the ministers of municipality and rural affairs, interior, health, commerce and industry, agriculture, water and electricity, finance, and economy and planning.
The Cabinet also endorsed new regulations for the Pensions Fund. The fund’s present board of directors will continue until a new board is set up. The meeting appointed Dr. Abdul Wahab ibn Abdullah Baghdadi assistant deputy minister for external information at the Ministry of Culture and Information, and Ibrahim ibn Abdul Kareem Al-Muhaimid director general of the finance minister’s office.
