Riyadh- Saudi ministers confirmed that the Kingdom remains committed to a stable oil market and will continue to communicate with major producers to prevent price fluctuations. The Saudi Cabinet reiterated that the government is still committed to meeting a “large share of global energy demand on a purely commercial basis.”

Saudi Arabia “invests huge amounts of money to maintain its vital reserve capacity to help meet additional demand, or deal with global supply disruption if necessary”, it also stated.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet’s session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Monday.

The ministers discussed the deliberations of the Cambridge Week for Energy Research in Houston on the international oil market.

At the outset of the session, HRH King Salman briefed the Cabinet on the outcomes of his talks with the Nigerian President, Mohammed Bukhari, Prince Frederik Henrik Andre, Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Denmark, in addition to the outcomes of the message received from Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait and the telephone call received from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Minister of Social Affairs and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Majed bin Abdullah Al-Qassabi said in a statement, following the session, that the Cabinet was briefed on a number of reports on latest developments at regional, Arab and international arenas; reconfirming the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of terrorist bombings and attacks that took place in Cameroon, Somalia and Afghanistan, voicing the Kingdom’s condolences to the families of the victims, governments and citizens.

The Cabinet expressed its appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Crown Prince and the Deputy Crown Prince for the state’s care for its citizens, martyrs of duty and their families.

The ministers commended in this regard the Crown Prince’s inauguration of the electronic board for the support of martyrs, guaranteeing that the country never forgets citizens martyred in defending the nation, that all people are proud of the martyrs of duty who will be a source of pride for the homeland’s leadership and people.

The Cabinet also praised the Ministry of Interior’s keenness to speed up and complete the transformation into electronic services through “Abshir” integrated system and through launching a mobile phone application, ” We are all security”. The application allows citizens to become part of the country’s security apparatus by reporting crime, accidents and disasters more effectively.

Moreover, the Cabinet acclaimed the security forces, customs and various agencies for their efforts to monitor, track down and prevent the attempts of smuggling drugs into the Kingdom. It also commended their achievements in arresting those involved in smuggling acts and protecting citizens from the scourge of drugs; expressing its appreciation for the cooperation of security agencies in a number of Arab countries with those in the Kingdom in arresting drug smugglers and manufacturers.

The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcomes of the meetings of the Group of Twenty (G-20) finance ministers that were concluded in Shanghai, China with the participation of governors of central banks in the countries of the Group. The participants reviewed key developments at the level of the global economy, which is facing the challenges of growth and fluctuations in the financial markets. They called for strengthening joint action via coordination among developed and emerging countries and employing fiscal and structural policies to counter these challenges.

Furthermore, the Cabinet authorized the Minister of Finance – or his deputy – to sign a draft agreement among the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and both Belgium and Cyprus to avoid double taxation with respect to taxes on income, prevention of tax evasion, and the “Protocol” project attached to them before submitting the final signed version to complete statutory procedures.

It also approved amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training and Issuing of Certificates and Shift Work for Workers at Sea for the year 1978, issued by the World Conference of the International Maritime Organization held in Manila in 2010.