The Cabinet had authorized Yamani to sign a similar agreement with China last month. The Kingdom signed its first ever nuclear treaty with France in February, paving the way for the Kingdom's long-term plans to build power stations utilizing alternative energy sources to produce electricity and water.
Saudi Arabia has decided to make use of alternative resources such as atomic, solar, geothermal and wind power to meet its growing energy requirements. Power demand in the Kingdom is forecast to increase by 8 percent annually. Electricity demand is expected to triple by 2032, which will give rise to the need for energy plants with a capacity of 80 gigawatts.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who presided over the Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace here, welcomed GCC leaders to the Kingdom to attend a consultative meeting in Riyadh on Tuesday. He expected the meeting would contribute to realizing the hopes and aspirations of GCC citizens. The king briefed the ministers on the content of a message he received from Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, which was handed to him by Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
The Cabinet welcomed the reconciliation agreement signed by the Palestinian groups in Cairo recently and described it as an important step toward unifying Palestinian efforts to protect their interests. It reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for the Palestinians to protect their legitimate rights including establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet denounced the burning of a church and the ensuing sectarian violence in the Egyptian town of Imbaba, killing and injuring a number of people. The Kingdom conveyed its condolences to the victims’ families.
The Cabinet appointed four members to the board of directors of the General Surveying Authority for three years; it endorsed an agreement signed with Kazakhstan for cooperation in fighting terrorism, organized crimes and drug trafficking; and reshuffled the Tax Appeal Board appointing Abdul Rahman Al-Humaid as its chairman, Abdul Aziz Abanami, vice chairman and Saad Al-Ruwaitie, Muhammad Al-Sahli and Muhammad Al-Murshid as members.
The Cabinet appointed Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Garni as mayor of Jazan and Nasser bin Saleh Al-Tamimi, undersecretary at the Ministry of Culture and Information for cultural affairs.
