JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah will pay an official visit to Syria shortly at the invitation of President Bashar Assad, the Royal Court announced Monday. The Royal Court did not give a specific date for the visit but indicated that it would take place “within a few days.”
King Abdullah’s landmark visit to Damascus reflects the improving relations between the two Arab countries. It follows a recent visit to the Kingdom by the Syrian president to attend the opening of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), along with other world leaders.
During that visit, King Abdullah and President Assad held two hours of talks, focusing on regional and global developments. The talks also dealt with ways of strengthening bilateral ties.
“The two sides have expressed their happiness over the level of coordination and consultation between the two countries,” the Syrian news agency, SANA, said following the Jeddah talks. Syrian sources then predicted that the participation of Assad in the KAUST opening would strengthen the relations between the two countries.
Lebanese leaders were also happy over the talks between King Abdullah and Assad. “President Assad’s visit to the Kingdom is an important step upon which we must build,” said Fouad Siniora, who is Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister and a member of Saad Hariri’s Future Movement.
Earlier on Monday, King Abdullah presided over a meeting of the Cabinet, which reviewed the preparations made by the ministries of health and education to enhance swine flu awareness among students, parents and teachers.
Intermediate and secondary schools in the Kingdom reopen Saturday while primary schools a week later. King Abdullah had given instructions to delay school reopening in order to give officials enough time to make preparations to combat swine flu.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet endorsed the agreement with South Africa for defense cooperation. It also authorized the interior minister to sign an extradition treaty with Egypt and approved the establishment of the National Insurance Company.
The Cabinet allowed the electricity regulating authority to revise tariff for nonresidential subscribers such as commercial, industrial and governmental institutions. However, it insisted that such tariffs should not exceed 26 halalas per kilowatt/hour and should consider power load in peak hours and other times.
The meeting also authorized the minister of culture and information to hold talks with his Egyptian counterpart for signing a media cooperation agreement. It endorsed a memorandum of understanding signed with Qatar on Dec. 16, 2008 for cultural and media cooperation, the Saudi Press Agency said.
At the outset of the Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah thanked world leaders for taking part in the opening of KAUST and their impressions about the international research university located in Thuwal, 80 km northwest of Jeddah. The Cabinet reviewed the outcome of the Geneva conference that focused on the impact of King Abdullah’s interfaith dialogue initiative in disseminating human values. It emphasized the importance of dialogue in order to promote mutual understanding and respect among the followers of different faiths.
The Cabinet meeting appointed Saud bin Ahmed Al-Samari undersecretary for planning and development at the Interior Ministry; Ibrahim bin Awad Al-Ahmadi assistant undersecretary at Madinah governorate; and Talal bin Muhammad Attar, Muhammad bin Mahmoud Al-Ali, Ali bin Muhammad Al-Hamdan and Emad bin Adnan bin Obaid Madani ministers plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.
