Cabinet ministers, during the weekly meeting on Monday, highlighted the GCC resolution that backed the legitimate Yemeni government, and slammed the actions of the Houthis and supporters of the former president, which it said were preventing aid to flow into the country.

The ministers also welcomed the statements of the king at the 22nd forum of the Islamic Fiqh Council at the Muslim World League in Makkah that reaffirmed support for the goals of Operation Decisive Storm.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who chaired the meeting, highlighted the Kingdom’s move to clamp down on those issuing what he described as unregulated and uninformed fatwas, and for Islamic scholars to raise awareness about groups that are trying to undermine the country.

The Cabinet reiterated the country’s efforts to combat terrorism and its source of financing, praising in this context the second meeting of the working group set up to deal with this issue. The Cabinet also noted the joint armed forces exercises that were recently conducted by the tactical emergency forces of the GCC, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan and Turkey.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved a resolution of the GCC Supreme Council taken at its 34th meeting in Kuwait on Dec. 10 to 11, 2013, for a unified judicial authority pilot project for four years, to be automatically renewed if there are no objections by member states.

It authorized the minister of foreign affairs to discuss with Niger a draft general agreement for cooperation between the two countries. The Cabinet also authorized the minister of justice to discuss a draft memorandum of understanding with Afghanistan.

The Cabinet has also approved the creation of an excellence award in the name of Princess Noura University in literature, humanities, natural sciences, health sciences, social business, economic projects, charity, and the arts, said Al-Toraifi.