“The council praised the efforts of the Haj Ministry and other departments to improve the services being extended to pilgrims,” said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja.
“Saudi Arabia is honored to provide the best possible services to the guests of God,” a Cabinet statement said. More than 2.5 million faithful are expected to perform Haj this year.
King Abdullah earlier briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in Riyadh and the content of a message he received from Sudan President Omar Al-Bashir.
During the meeting, Petroleum and Mineral Resources Minister Ali Al-Naimi spoke about the signing of an agreement between Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical to establish the Sadara Petrochemical complex in Jubail at a cost of $20 billion. He said the new project would create a large number of jobs for Saudis.
Al-Naimi said Sadara would strengthen Saudi Arabia’s position in the world’s petrochemical industry. “The participation of a major international company in the project reflects the Kingdom’s ability to attract foreign investment,” he added.
Khoja said the Cabinet denounced the terrorist attack in Somalia last week that killed and wounded hundreds of people. It also denounced the move by Jewish settlers and extremist groups to violate sacred Islamic places in East Jerusalem, including the burning of Al-Noor Mosque.
The meeting described the Israeli atrocities against Palestinians in the occupied territories as terrorist acts “that come within the framework of Israel’s racist policies to eradicate Palestinian landmarks and identity.”
Khoja said the Cabinet agreed to establish a branch of King Abdul Aziz Public Library in the University of Beijing and authorized the library to sign an agreement with the Chinese university.
The Cabinet reshuffled the appeals committee that looks into disputes related to stocks and bonds. The new committee members are Abdullah Al-Shaddi from the Cabinet’s experts committee, Abdul Aziz Kelaib from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, and Salim Al-Motawae from the Ministry of Finance.
The Cabinet appointed Prince Mansour bin Khaled Al-Farhan ambassador at the Foreign Ministry; Misfar Al-Ghasib minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry; Khaled Al-Abdullatif deputy minister of endowments affairs; and Abdul Rahman Al-Radhiyan office director of the minister of social affairs.
