King orders maximum support for Haj pilgrims

JEDDAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has directed both government and private bodies to provide the best possible services to the guests of God.

Chairing the weekly session of the Council of Ministers at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah on Monday, the king welcomed the pilgrims who have begun arriving in the Kingdom to perform the annual pilgrimage next month.
He asked both government and private agencies to double their efforts and offer all necessary services to pilgrims at the holy sites.
He noted that the Kingdom had spent billions of riyals on projects and expansion at the Two Holy Mosques in Makkah, Madinah and at the holy sites.
The king also instructed those responsible to ease visa procedures for pilgrims at the Kingdom’s embassies as well at land, air and seaports.
He also directed that the pilgrims’ stay be made as comfortable as possible.
The king advised pilgrims to dedicate themselves to worshipping and performing the Haj rituals in the true spirit according to the teachings of Islam.
In a statement to SPA following the Cabinet session, Culture and Information Minister Adel Al-Toraifi expressed the ministers’ great appreciation and gratitude to the king for having granted a bonus of one month’s salary to soldiers and security forces on the frontlines.
The Cabinet reviewed a number of local and regional developments.
It restated the Kingdom’s condemnation and denunciation of the bombing of a hospital in Quetta, Pakistan, and the bombings in Thailand, which resulted in the deaths and injuries of dozens of people.

Al-Toraifi said that the Cabinet had appealed to the international community and to the UN Security Council to provide immediate and urgent protection to civilians and children in Aleppo and other Syrian cities, to stop the bloodshed, and play an active role in facilitating the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid which will assist those suffering from the forced displacement of families and children.
The Cabinet also stressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the continued violations by the Syrian regime and its allies which result in indiscriminate deaths and the destruction of cities, schools and hospitals.
The Cabinet condemned the use of siege as a war tactic whereby Syrians are starved to death or die from lack of medicines and medical care. Siege is a practice carried out by the forces of Assad and the terrorist Hezbollah militias.
The Cabinet reviewed the activities of the 10th Souq Okaz which enjoyed the patronage of King Salman. The Cabinet commended the steady success of the events, programs and visions that aim to preserve the country’s heritage.
The Cabinet made the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage a member of the board of directors of the Authority for Job Generation and Combating Unemployment.
It authorized the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority to issue, renew and terminate licenses given to economic and technical liaison offices.
The Islamic University in Madinah was authorized to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Maldives Islamic University.
The minister of energy and mineral resources shall discuss with the Egyptian government a memorandum of understanding for the exploitation of mineral resources in the sea bed and lands along the two countries’ joint sea borders.
The Cabinet approved the final accounts of the King Fahd Causeway for the fiscal year 1435-1436.