The Cabinet meeting, chaired by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, also hoped that Cairo would continue to play a historic role in Arab, Islamic and international forums.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet welcomed the outcome of the Sudan referendum and hoped that peace would prevail between North and South Sudan.
The Cabinet meeting, which was held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, discussed the measures taken to prevent recurrent flooding in Jeddah.
Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior Prince Naif briefed the Cabinet on the outcome of his tour of Jeddah’s flood-affected areas and a meeting of the ministerial committee.
Prince Naif said the Jeddah meeting, which was attended by Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal and senior ministers, discussed quick measures to resolve the problems caused by the Jan. 26 floods and proposed quick and permanent solutions for them.
The ministerial meeting had decided to award contracts to specialized international companies to establish a state-of-the art rainwater drainage system for Jeddah. It also formed a high-level subsidiary committee to conduct studies on the causes of Jeddah floods and follow up implementation of projects to prevent future floods. Prince Naif said works on the new project should start within a month.
Prince Naif stressed that strong action would be taken against negligent individuals and institutions who were partly responsible for the flooding and its aftermath. He also instructed departments concerned to assess damages caused by the floods to pay fair compensation to deserving victims.
Speaking about other decisions taken by the Cabinet, Khoja said scout teams would now work under the Youth Welfare Presidency during the Haj season. Scouts provide a variety of services to pilgrims.
The Cabinet authorized Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf or his deputy to hold talks with his Syrian counterpart to reach an agreement on customs cooperation. It also endorsed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar for cooperation in health.
The meeting appointed Abdul Aziz bin Ibrahim Al-Toub mayor of Hail, Abdul Aziz bin Muhammad Al-Dubyan adviser at the Ministry of Education, Abdul Rahman bin Muhammad Al-Ali deputy mayor of Madinah and Rashid bin Gheyad Al-Gheyad assistant undersecretary at the Ministry of Education.
