Deals to help boost foreign investment

Saudi Arabia plans to sign investment protection and promotion agreements with 12 countries including Norway, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Portugal as part of its efforts to attract more foreign investment.
The Council of Ministers authorized Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to hold talks with Uruguay, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Macedonia, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan to sign the agreements.
The Cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, emphasized the Gulf Cooperation Council’s role in strengthening cohesion and solidarity among its member countries.
Commenting on the 33rd GCC summit in Manama, the Cabinet highlighted the six-member group’s achievements over the past few years. It also wished the summit conference all success.
The Cabinet meeting stressed the government’s efforts to preserve the country’s cultural heritage, including architectural heritage, which represents the identity of states and cities.
It also welcomed the results of the meetings of the 98th session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) in Cairo, valuing the organization’s role in boosting cooperation among Arab oil-producing and exporting countries, developing oil industries and establishing joint ventures.
The Cabinet praised the statements issued by most member states of the UN Security Council denouncing Israel’s decision to construct Jewish settlements in Jerusalem and other occupied Palestinian territories.
The Cabinet urged the Security Council to prevent the Israeli authorities from implementing those housing projects, warning it would halt the entire peace process.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet authorized the president of the General Authority for Civil Aviation to discuss with the Pakistani side a draft agreement on air transport services.
The Cabinet amended Paragraph 3 of Article V of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority’s law making the organization the main provider of emergency medical services in the Kingdom, including ambulance transport of all kinds: land, sea and air, in addition to health services for pre-hospital patients and those injured in accidents and disasters.
The newly amended law calls for greater coordination between the Saudi Red Crescent Authority and the Border Guards in special ambulance rescue missions, taking advantage of marine equipment available with the guards.
The Red Crescent shall conclude a strategic partnership with the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation to create a specialized institute for training its employees and other members of the community.
The Cabinet appointed Abdul Rahman Al-Aiban a member of the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance, representing the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for three years. It also endorsed the General Organization for King Fahd Causeway’s accounts for 2011.
The Cabinet appointed Prince Mohammed bin Saad bin Khaled director general of operations at the Ministry of Interior; Ghazi bin Khaled Dairi geological adviser at Saudi Geological Survey; Ibrahim bin Suleiman Al-Musaitir legal adviser at the Ministry of Health and Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al-Daelaj director general of the General Budget at the Ministry of Finance.