“The two draft agreements were approved following detailed discussions by the members of the council,” said Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz Al-Yahya, assistant secretary-general of the council in a statement issued following the day's discussions at the council's headquarters.
He added that the council’s committee on security affairs headed by Maj. Gen. Muhammad bin Faisal presented the recommendations on the draft agreements to the house.
Yahya said the members strongly felt that the agreements should be executed for better security and stability between the two countries.
“This would help the two friendly countries not only strengthen bilateral relations but also serve the interests of the citizens of the respective countries who are living in each other's states,” he said.
During Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the Kingdom in March, five bilateral agreements were signed including the extradition treaty and the agreement on the transfer of prisoners.
The extradition treaty will be in line with the standard format followed across the world and will be governed by international law. Procedures to be followed for both countries have been laid down in the draft agreement. The agreement on transfer of prisoners will facilitate the transfer of Indian prisoners back to India where they will be able to serve the remaining part of their sentences given by a Saudi court.
While making amendments to a report from the council's health affairs committee headed by Abdullah bin Zamil Al-Idrees, Al-Yahya said that the members unanimously recommended that the pharmacy and its allied department in the Ministry of Health should be managed and run by the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA).
He added that the recommendations were made after a series of studies conducted by the council's committee to improve pharmacy and pharmaceutical services throughout the Kingdom.
