Jeddah – The Saudi cabinet reviewed on Monday the contents of the joint statement issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt after receiving the Qatari reply from Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to its list of demands to Doha. It also stressed that the Qatari people are an essential part of the Gulf and Arab system, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

The cabinet explained that the measures taken by the four countries against the Qatari government aim to correct its course because it seeks to break up the Gulf Cooperation Council system and Arab and international security. It also wants to destabilize regional countries and meddle in their affairs.

It reiterated, during the session that was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz at al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, its gratitude and appreciation for the efforts exerted by the Emir of Kuwait to resolve the crisis with Qatar in the framework of his keenness on the unity of the Gulf and Arab states.

Following the session, Minister of State and acting Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed told SPA that the government praised the King’s invitation to hold a Saudi-African summit in Saudi Arabia at the end of 2017 or at the beginning of 2018. This invitation was conveyed by Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir to president of 29th ordinary African Summit that was recently held in Ethiopia.

The Saudi cabinet also underlined the welcome of leaders of the G20 summit countries of Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the G20 Summit in 2020, in implementation of the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

Preparations to host the summit are underway and they will be followed up by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier, Minister of Defense and President of the Council for Economic Affairs and Development.

In this context, the cabinet thanked the participants of the G20 Summit in Hamburg for highlighting Saudi Arabia’s efforts in combating terrorism, reiterating that the fight against extremism, as well as the promotion of the values of moderation, are an international responsibility. This requires effective cooperation and coordination among states as terrorism has no religion and it is a crime targeting the whole world and does not differentiate between religions and races.

The cabinet also thanked Germany, represented by Chancellor Angela Merkel, for the good organization and management of the activities of the Hamburg summit that was held on July 7 and 8.