Saudi Cabinet acclaims royal order to form anti-corruption committee

King Salman presiding over the Cabinet meeting in Riyadh on Monday. (SPA)

RIYADH: The Saudi Cabinet on Tuesday appreciated the royal order to form a supreme committee chaired by the crown prince to identify violations, crimes, individuals and entities involved in public corruption cases.
The Cabinet stressed that royal order emanates from the king’s responsibility toward the homeland and citizens and his consideration of the risks of corruption and its bad effects on the state at political, social, economic and security levels.
The weekly meeting was chaired by King Salman at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh.
The king began the session by briefing attendees on the outcome of his talks with US President Donald Trump; Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi; Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe; Italy Premier Paolo Gentiloni; Lebanon Premier Saad Al-Hariri; and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
The Minister of Culture and Information Awwad bin Saleh Al-Awwad said that the Cabinet renewed the Kingdom’s condemnation of the launching of a ballistic missile by Houthi armed militias from Yemeni territories on the capital Riyadh to target populated civilian areas.
The Cabinet stressed that this hostile and indiscriminate action proved Iranian involvement in supporting Houthi armed groups with qualitative capabilities in defiance of the UN resolution 2216. It is considered as an open aggression targeting neighboring countries and international peace and security in the region and the world, and it affirms the Kingdom’s right to legitimate defense of its territory and people under Article 51 of the UN Charter.
Ministers dealt with the World Bank Group’s report on the Kingdom’s unprecedented progress in indicators of the ease of doing business after implementing many reforms and procedures that have improved the business and investment environment, as well as investor confidence.
The report also referred to the Kingdom’s ranking among the top 20 reformist countries in the world, and its position of second among the best high-income countries and G-20 countries in terms of implementing reforms to improve the business environment.
The Cabinet also pointed out the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of a UN committee report that the UN had presented $14 million to the so-called Yemeni Ministry of Education, an affiliate of Houthi militias which are planting thousands of mines inside Yemen and on the Saudi border. It asked for reconsideration of the report submitted to the committee to reflect the facts that had been ignored and the commitment of all UN organs to the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2216, stressing that UN support for Houthi militias was unjustifiable or unacceptable.
Ministers expressed their condemnation of the recent truck-ramming accident in New York, the suicide bombing in Kabul and the two suicide attacks in Kirkuk, Iraq, which resulted in a number of victims and injuries. It expressed its condolences to the families of the victims, the US administration and people in addition to the governments and peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq.
The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom’s firm stance rejecting terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and the importance of international efforts to confront and eradicate it.