RIYADH: The Shoura Council has approved the demarcation of the maritime border between Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

This was announced by the body’s assistant president, Yahya bin Abdullah Al-Samaan, after a briefing by its foreign affairs committee, a local publication reported on Tuesday.

On April 8, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement clarifying the demarcation of maritime borders between the two nations, just one of several deals signed during the visit to Egypt of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman.

The Egyptian Cabinet had said that the agreement places the islands of Tiran and Sanafir within Saudi territorial waters. The two islands are of great strategic importance, being located at the entrance to the Gulf of Aqaba.

Meanwhile, the Shoura urged King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital to hire more staff so that it could treat more people, including those transferred from other hospitals. It should also develop more community-based programs.

The Shoura stated that there should be more training provided for those working in applied sciences and clinical pharmacology. The facility should further provide details on the benefit of opening two laboratories for stem cell treatment, and review levels so that more Saudis are attracted.

The Shoura approved draft legislation on the national reserve fund, presented by a number of the council’s members, after listening to a report of its financial committee read out by its chairman Husam Al-Anqari. The law is aimed at better management to achieve the best possible returns.

A member criticized the performance of the Economic Cities Authority, saying it had not performed well and asked whether the body was not able to handle the sheer size of the operations or whether there was insufficient legislative and other support to attract investments. He suggested that the authority should restructure along the lines of the Jubail and Yanbu Royal Commission.

Another member called for the formation of an independent body to determine why the body was not performing according to standard. He said the last report issued by the body gave information about services and not its planned strategy.

Another member said that the economic and industrial city authorities should be privatized, which he argued would improve their performance and attract much-needed investment.

The Shoura’s Haj, accommodation and service committee said there was an urgent need to develop a strategy that would attract investment to these cities. Saudi Aramco should be called in to work out a development plan for the Jazan economic city, the report stated.