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Saudi Cabinet Hails U.N. Decision to Remove Arab Coalition from Blacklist | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chairs the Cabinet session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday. SPA


Jeddah-Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet praised on Monday a United Nations decision to remove the “coalition countries to defend the legitimacy in Yemen” from the list annexed to U.N. Secretary General’s report on Children and Armed Conflict.

The United Nations decided to remove the Arab coalition from its blacklist that was included in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s report on children and armed conflict last week. This came after Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United Nations Abdullah Al-Muallami and the ambassadors of some of the countries in the coalition protested for being mentioned in the report. The protest was presented to the Secretary-General.

The Cabinet said the report was not based on accurate and reliable information about the coalition’s efforts and reiterated the keenness of the coalition on security, stability and safety of civilians including children.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz chaired the Cabinet session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

In a statement to Saudi Press Agency following the session, Minister of State and Acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Aasem bin Saad bin Saeed said that the cabinet commended United Nations’ decision to remove the Arab coalition from its blacklist.

He added that the cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the latest regional and international developments, and condemned terrorist attacks in Beirut, Istanbul and Orlando, which left many people dead and wounded.

The cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of all forms of violence and said it stood by international efforts to combat terrorism.

In local affairs, the minister said that the Cabinet followed up on the system of services and plans prepared by various government agencies as well as public and private sectors to serve worshipers and Umrah performers during the holy month of Ramadan.

The Cabinet was also briefed on the outcomes of the 23rd annual meeting of Saudi Governors, who pledged to facilitate and ease citizens’ affairs in the different governorates of Saudi Arabia, as well as to enhance security and overall development to serve the interests of the homeland in line with the directions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his keenness on achieving the prosperity of citizens and expatriates alike.

On a different note, Cabinet welcomed reform projects within the National Transformation Program, which falls within Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, and the adoption of ground-breaking initiatives to overcome challenges in the public sector. The cabinet stressed that the achievement of those initiatives would lead to a solid and strong economy in which the welfare of citizens will be enhanced in line with the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Meanwhile, Cabinet approved a number of plans pertaining to the General Authority of Civil Aviation, including the formation of the Board of Directors of Saudi Arabian Airlines.

Cabinet also approved a protocol amending the Marrakesh Agreement on the establishment of the World Trade Organization. The Council of Ministers decided to approve the necessary controls and conditions of the license given to foreign companies to invest in wholesale and retail trade sector with one hundred percent ownership.

The Cabinet adopted the Implementing Rules of the Undeveloped Land Fees Regulations to collect taxes from owners of the so-called white lands and decided that the Ministry of Housing would be responsible for collecting a levy to be paid by owners of undeveloped lands, which are empty because their owners have no incentive to build on them.

On a different note, the Council of Ministers approved King Saud University’s signing of a draft memorandum of academic cooperation with Moscow State University in Russia.

The Cabinet appointed the Minister of Transport as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Railways (SAR), and decided that the company would be the owner of the infrastructure of railways projects linking the cities of the Kingdom together.

The Cabinet approved a proposal submitted by the Government of Finland to reactivate Saudi-Finnish Joint Committee as provided for in Article (3) of the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement between the two governments.