RIYADH: The Council of Ministers Monday expressed its satisfaction about the ongoing oil and refinery expansion projects and said they would contribute to meeting the increasing global demand for energy.
“All these energy projects are progressing well as scheduled,” said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja, quoting a Cabinet statement.
The Cabinet meeting, which was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, highlighted the government’s efforts to protect the environment.
The Cabinet’s assurance on energy projects came a week after the government said it had commissioned state-owned Saudi Aramco to build a $10 billion refinery in the southern province of Jazan.
The new refinery, located in the Jazan Economic City, will have a capacity of 250,000 to 400,000 barrels per day, and is part of a wider development plan for the impoverished southern region.
The Cabinet meeting also discussed the decisions taken by the Supreme Council of Petroleum and Minerals, which met in Riyadh on Sunday under the chairmanship of King Abdullah and reviewed the world oil market situation.
King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Tony Blair, the Quartet’s peace envoy to the Middle East. The Cabinet praised the king for extending the period of the foreign scholarship program for another five years.
The meeting also referred to the Global Competitiveness Forum being held in Riyadh and stressed the role of competitiveness in achieving progress and prosperity. It expressed its happiness over Saudi Arabia achieving 7th position among Arab countries in the field of innovation and creation. According to a report issued by the Arab Thought Foundation, Saudi Arabia holds first position in the Arab world and 8th position in the world in educational spending.
The Cabinet set up a six-member ministerial committee to supervise implementation of public utility services to newly established residential districts. The committee will work out a five-year plan for the provision of public services such as roads, water, sewage, electricity, health and telecommunications and determine which districts are to be given priority.
Khoja said the Cabinet meeting authorized Minister of Commerce and Industry Abdullah Zainal Alireza to hold talks with his Qatari counterpart in order to sign an agreement for industrial cooperation.
Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal has been assigned to hold talks with the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) on signing an agreement concerning its headquarters. Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf has been authorized to sign an agreement with Singapore for the avoidance of double taxation and tax evasion.
