JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers yesterday adopted new measures to increase job opportunities for women by expanding women’s health and technical education programs and introducing a distance employment system using electronic facilities.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, instructed the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) to train more women to take up jobs related to computer operation, office work as well as women’s care centers and jails, the Saudi Press Agency said.
“Kindergartens will be made part and parcel of the education system and the jobs there will be restricted to women,” Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja told SPA. The Cabinet adopted the new decisions on the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on Administrative Reforms.
The meeting also urged the Ministry of Education and other relevant agencies to take necessary administrative and organizational measures to provide jobs for women in the women’s education sector. Speaking at the Cabinet meeting, which was held at Khoraim Gardens outside Riyadh, King Abdullah reassured the nation about the health of Crown Prince Sultan, who is undergoing medical tests and treatment in the United States, and wished him good health.
The Cabinet welcomed the peace accord signed by the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement to settle the Darfur conflict. “This is an important step that will lead to achieving a just and comprehensive agreement to end the conflict and improve the humanitarian situation in the region,” it added.
The Cabinet meeting denounced the repeated Israeli violations against Palestinian civilians, its continued aggression against Gaza, its arrest of Palestinian leaders and its digging near Al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest mosque in Islam.
The Cabinet urged the international community to stop Israel’s inhuman practices and work seriously to protect the Palestinian people and Islamic holy places and prevent the Jewish state from Judizing Jerusalem.
The meeting denounced the bomb attack in Egypt. The king instructed officials at the Saudi Embassy in Cairo to follow up on the condition of Saudis injured in the bombing and provide them with necessary health care.
Khoja said the Cabinet praised the decisions taken by the joint meeting of the GCC foreign and finance ministers to speed up reconstruction of Gaza and supported the international conference to be held in Cairo on March 2 for the reconstruction of Gaza.
The Cabinet condemned the hostile remarks of Iranian officials, threatening the sovereignty and independence of Bahrain, saying such comments would affect the ongoing efforts by GCC countries to establish good neighborly relations with Tehran.
The meeting changed the name of the Saudi Standards Organization to Saudi Arabian Authority for Standards and Quality, Khoja said.
The new authority will have the power to grant quality certification to all products, including foodstuffs and medicines.
The Cabinet fixed the charge for transporting oil between Jizan and the Farasan Islands at 10 halalas per liter. It also licensed the establishment of the Yanbu Water and Electricity Company to establish, operate and maintain a new water and power plant in the industrial city.
