JEDDAH, 31 May 2005 — Crown Prince Abdullah told the Cabinet meeting yesterday that the health of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd “is stable and reassuring” in the light of medical tests being conducted on him.
Prince Abdullah wished good health for King Fahd, who was admitted to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh on Friday for medical examination. He thanked world leaders for inquiring about the king’s health and expressing their good feelings.
Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet reviewed the outcome of Saturday’s consultative GCC summit in Riyadh and emphasized the need to strengthen the unity of GCC member states to help them confront global challenges.
“The Cabinet also welcomed the positive results of the meeting between US President George W. Bush and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas,” the Saudi Press Agency quoted Madani as saying.
Speaking about the resolutions taken by the Cabinet, Madani said it endorsed a GCC summit decision to exempt raw and half-cut diamonds from customs tariff as well as the final documents of the International Telecom Union’s conference in Marakesh.
The Cabinet meeting specified the activities that go against the country’s veterinary quarantine law and said its violators will be fined SR1,000 to SR50,000 considering the enormity of the violation. The fines will not exempt a person from damages demanded by the victims of the violation.
In another development, Madani said a recent deal by his ministry with the Nile Sat 102 helped improve reception of the five Saudi TV channels and five radio stations in Arab and Central African countries.
Meanwhile, the Shoura Council yesterday called upon the government to license national companies to operate private airlines in the country and encourage investments to establish a college of civil aviation to train manpower required by such airlines.
Speaking to SPA after a Shoura session, Dr. Saleh Al-Malik, the council’s secretary-general said the consultative body emphasized the need to speed up the establishment of the Court of Grievances headquarters in Riyadh and its branches all over the country.
While discussing the annual report of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization (SASO), the Shoura weighed prospects of restructuring the organization and called for revising its 31-year-old law. The Shoura urged SASO to encourage national industries by providing them with quality marks in order to help them compete with foreign firms.
