The Cabinet has welcomed the UN General Assembly’s approval of an Arab resolution condemning the escalation of violence and killings in Syria, and the resolution condemning the Syrian authorities’ continuous, serious violations of human rights of the Syrian people.

Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet also noted the statement issued by the joint meeting of the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss the current situation in Syria from a regional point of view.

He said the Cabinet considered a report on the events and developments in the region and the world and the international community’s response to them.

The Council of Ministers appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s desire to strengthen communication and cooperation with the Kingdom to maintain stability and peace in the region and his interest and commitment to promote peace talks and seek political solutions to issues.

The Cabinet discussed a number of local issues and appreciated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah’s approval of the recommendations of the Ministerial Committee on the subject of surrogate female teachers in public schools.

The Cabinet commended the students of the Kingdom representing the Ministry of Education and King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Gifted and Creativity for winning awards at Intel International Science and Engineering Exhibition. It commended the Ministry of Education for winning for the second time in a row the World Summit Award on the Information Society for the year 2013 for the project of networking of schools within the category of telecommunications and information infrastructure.

Khoja said the Cabinet approved an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Turkey on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs, signed in Istanbul on May 15, 2012.

It authorized the minister of commerce and industry or his deputy to discuss with the Chinese side a draft program of technical cooperation between the Saudi Ministry of Commerce and Industry and National Interest General Administration of Quality Supervision, Testing and Quarantine in the Peoples’ Republic of China, in light of the text attached to the decision, and to sign it in the framework of the Joint Committee and the agreement on trade and economic cooperation, investment and technical cooperation signed between the two countries, approved by a royal decree on 21/06/1413.