Govt to bear 50 percent of seaport customs tariffs

The government will continue to bear 50 percent of customs tariffs levied by seaports for another three years, effective from March 15, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said on Monday.
The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense. The Cabinet first took the decision over five years ago.
The Cabinet approved the defense cooperation agreement with South Korea and the defense industrial cooperation agreement with Turkey, Khoja said.
The Cabinet welcomed the launch of the project for renal failure patients initiated by the King Abdullah International Foundation for Humanitarian Works.
The crown prince briefed the Cabinet on his meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan and underscored the deep relations between the two countries.
Referring to the 7th Competitiveness Global Forum, which concluded in Riyadh on Monday, the Cabinet emphasized the Kingdom’s efforts to support private domestic and foreign investment.
The meeting congratulated Egypt on the outcome of the referendum on the country’s constitution, saying it reflected the unity of the Egyptian people. Saudi Arabia hoped that security and stability would prevail in the African country.
The Cabinet welcomed the outcome of the Al-Quds Committee meeting in Morocco and reiterated the Kingdom’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause.
The Cabinet appointed Saad bin Othman Al-Qasabi as a government representative on the board of directors of the Saudi Arabian Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC).
The Cabinet also approved the updated petroleum strategy of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states and the petroleum media strategy for the GCC countries endorsed by the GCC summit in Bahrain.
The Cabinet appointed Abdulmalek bin Abdulaziz Al-Shalhoob and Talaat bin Zaki bin Riza Hafez on the board of directors of the Radio and Television Commission for three years.
The Cabinet agreed that the minister of commerce and industry would have the right to appoint, from among the personnel of the Saudi Arabian Standards Organization, judicial officers to verify commercial fraud cases.
The meeting appointed Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Abdulkarim ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Haya bint Abdulrahman Al-Samhari director general for training and foreign scholarships at the Ministry of Education; Saleh bin Mohammed Al-Abdulkarim consultant for technical affairs at the education ministry; Majed bin Mohammed Al-Qahtani assistant undersecretary for educational development at the education ministry; Hamad bin Abdullah Khudair minister plenipotentiary at the foreign ministry; Yahya bin Nasser Al-Yahya assistant undersecretary for expatriate affairs at the Ministry of Labor; and Salman bin Abdulrahman Al-Asmari director general for administrative and financial Affairs at the labor ministry.