JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday emphasized the strength of the Saudi economy and its ability to face the current global financial crisis.
“By the grace of God, we are going ahead with our investment and spending program for the various development projects,” the king told the weekly Cabinet meeting.
He hoped that next month’s G-20 meeting would contribute to achieving global economic recovery and solving international economic problems.
The Cabinet endorsed the revised Arab Anti-Terror Accord that considers encouraging people to commit terrorism as well as financing and collecting funds to commit such crimes as terrorist acts.
“Terrorism is any crime that is committed with the intent of creating terror in any allied country or against its properties or interests and its citizens and their properties,” Article 1 of the accord said.
The article warned against praising terrorist acts or printing publications or writing articles or producing audio and videocassettes in favor of terrorism, saying such acts would be considered acts of terrorism.
During the Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Syrian President Bashar Assad, and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah in Riyadh.
“We discussed all outstanding issues frankly and transparently in a positive way. The leaders were convinced of the importance of achieving unity in joint Arab action and solving problems through dialogue,” the king said.
King Abdullah said the four-way summit talks had discussed the need to expand the area of Arab interests and prevent regional and international interference in Arab problems. “There was unanimity on putting higher Arab interests at the top of all considerations and protecting the interests of Arab nations and peoples.”
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the king also briefed the Cabinet on his telephone conversations with US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as well as the messages received from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani.
The Cabinet hoped that the ongoing reconciliation talks in Cairo between Palestinian groups would lead to their unity. It called for setting out rules and principles to avoid future conflicts among the Palestinians.
Spelling out other decisions taken by the Cabinet, Khoja said it had approved new regulations on the use of computers and information networks in government departments and institutions. “Persons authorized to use information resources should abide by the relevant policies and measures ... They should not use it for purposes that violate the Kingdom’s laws and regulations or in a way that will be harmful to a government body and its reputation.”
The Cabinet approved the establishment of a water and electricity holding company to carry out investment projects in the water and electricity sector. The Public Investment Fund will participate in its ownership and the management of its investment projects. The Cabinet also approved another firm named Saudi Solidarity Company.
The meeting approved the continuation of the present board of directors of the Saudi Railway Organization for a year. It authorized the chairman of the King Abdul Aziz Museum to hold talks with officials at the Center for Studies on the Gulf and Arabian Peninsula at Kuwait University and the National Archives in Portugal to sign memoranda for cooperation. It also decided to sign a cooperation agreement with South Korea’s Office of the General Prosecutor.
