Kingdom urges a WMD-free Middle East

Saudi Arabia yesterday called on the international community to make the Middle East a region free from weapons of mass destruction.
“The Council of Ministers stressed the importance of joint international efforts to remove weapons of mass destruction and prevent their proliferation, reiterating the Kingdom’s firm position to strengthening efforts of international cooperation in this regard and supporting the efforts aimed at making the Middle East a demilitarized zone of all weapons of mass destruction,” Minister of Culture and Information Abdul Aziz Khoja said after the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, at the Yamamah Palace here.
The Kingdom had expressed this view earlier at the Review Conference III of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague.
While condemning the escalating violence against innocent Muslims in Myanmar, the council appealed to the international community to take effective steps to end the miseries of these people, Khoja said.
The council also commended the recently concluded Saudi-French Business Opportunities Forum in Paris, expressing the Kingdom’s keen interest in developing trade relations with key partners through mechanisms that promote mutual trade and economic relations.
The council also lauded the achievements of the Sixth King Abdullah International Award for Translation and the 15th Prince Salman Contest for the Holy Qur’an Memorization, the prizes for which were distributed last week.
The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding on bilateral political consultations between the Kingdom’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs of and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs signed in Riyadh last year, Khoja said.