The house unanimously moved the vote of appreciation on King Abdullah at its 29th ordinary session held under the chairmanship of the Shoura Council Chairman Abdullah Al-Asheikh in Riyadh.
Endorsing King Abdullah's decision to return the Saudi ambassador to Cairo to reopen the Saudi missions in Egypt, the house said that the directive amply displayed the keenness of the king to bolster relations between the Kingdom and Egypt.
On Friday, King Abdullah directed Ambassador Ahmad Al-Qattan to reopen the Kingdom's embassy in Cairo and resume his duties on Sunday. The king's directive also included the reopening of the two consulates in Alexandria and Suez.
Al-Qattan was recalled for consultations on April 28 following demonstrations in front of the Saudi Embassy in Cairo and consulates in Alexandria and Suez that endangered the security of both Saudi and Egyptian staff. The protesters tried to storm the missions over the arrest of an Egyptian lawyer for alleged possession of illegal drugs when he tried to enter the Kingdom.
Shoura Council Secretary-General Muhammed Al-Ghamdi said the royal decision followed the visit of the high-powered delegation from Egypt that met the king on Friday to repair the strained ties. He said the two countries enjoy a relationship bound by deep roots of culture, religion, values and fraternity.
He said the council also requested the media in the two countries to portray the relations in the correct light.
On a presentation made by the council’s committee on health and environment, Al-Ghamdi said the draft regulations of the Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation (SCOT) was approved with a majority of votes.
The approved draft contained 10 articles that dealt with the administrative and financial matters of SCOT, its functions in harvesting kidneys from living and cadaveric donors, transplanting them and procedures for post-surgical treatment in various health facilities in the Kingdom.
Discussing the annual report of the Ministry of Haj presented by the committee on housing, water and public services, the members suggested that related government and nongovernment agencies should give their best services to pilgrims during the Umrah and Haj pilgrimages.
In a separate development, Shoura Chairman Al-Asheikh received Indian Ambassador Hamid Ali Rao at his office in Riyadh yesterday. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them in various fields, especially between the Shoura Council and the Indian Parliament.
The two parties pledged to activate the role of Saudi-Indian Parliamentary Friendship Committees in their respective countries.
