JEDDAH: The Council of Ministers yesterday approved new laws to strengthen its drug-combating agency and called for the active participation of civilians and NGOs in the country’s massive campaign against narcotics.
The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also set up a fund to support families of drug addicts as well as to train and employ those who have been rehabilitated.
The National Committee to Combat Drugs, chaired by Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif, will set out national policies to combat drugs. The new rules also call for intense anti-drug awareness campaigns.
The new laws are significant in the backdrop of the increasing number of drug addicts in the Kingdom. According to a report presented to the consultative Shoura Council, there are around 150,000 young Saudi men and women drug users in the Kingdom.
The Kingdom applies the capital punishment on drug traffickers as part of efforts to confront the problem. It has also signed a number of regional and international treaties and agreements for combating drugs.
International drug barons exploit visitors to smuggle drugs into the Kingdom. A huge expatriate population, a strong economy and the long porous borders are other factors encouraging illicit drug traders to target the Kingdom.
The Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh also approved the establishment of the Saudi Company for Agricultural Investment and Animal Production with a capital of SR3 billion. Fully owned by the Public Investment Fund, the company will work to achieve food security and stabilize food prices in the Kingdom.
During the meeting, King Abdullah emphasized that Saudi Arabia would go ahead with its new development and investment programs to strengthen the economy. The Kingdom recently awarded new railway contracts worth SR9.36 billion and paid SR250 million to acquire two ferries to operate between Jazan and Farasan.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet emphasized the need for immediate action to revive the Middle East peace process for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative and UN Security Council resolutions.
The Kingdom also urged the world community and the United States to pressure Israel to abide by international resolutions and condemned the negative statement issued by the new Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it does not augur well for the peace process.
