Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who chaired the Cabinet meeting, briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Riyadh on Sunday. He said the talks covered vital issues and ways of strengthening cooperation between the two Arab countries.
The king also spoke about his telephone conversation with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad before the latter’s visit to Lebanon and the content of the message he had sent to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal.
The Cabinet urged the international community to extend all-out support to Pakistan to help the country recover from the aftermath of a devastating deluge that killed a large number of people and made thousands homeless.
King Abdullah’s efforts to establish an international program to promote a culture of dialogue and peace was commended. Education Minister Prince Faisal bin Abdullah signed an agreement with UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova last week to set up the program at the organization’s headquarters in Paris.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet approved the amended protocol for the memorandum of understanding signed with UNRWA. It also agreed to sign new agreements with Lebanon (for cooperation in youth welfare and sports), Vietnam (in agriculture, livestock and fisheries) and South Korea (water resources).
It appointed Abdul Aziz Al-Suwailem vice president for scientific research at King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology, and Suleiman Al-Sayari director of the office of the agriculture minister, Khoja said. The meeting also approved the final accounts of the King Fahd Causeway for 2008.
