Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz presided over the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers and expressed pride in the distinguished relations the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia enjoys with Arab, Islamic, and friendly nations, and affirmed that it would remain committed to the bases and pillars of its policy in dealing with the various issues of justice at all Arab, Islamic and international levels. He added that the Kingdom would spare no effort in support of security and peace in the world as well as the maintenance of Arab and Islamic rights and identity.
Reviewing the latest developments and in particular the Middle East peace process, stalled on account of Israeli obstinacy, King Fahd reiterated the Kingdom's condemnation and denunciation of Israel's repeated attacks on the Palestinian people and against southern Lebanon, and called on the world community to show firm defiance at such irresponsible practices, which run contrary to even the simplest ethical bases and international norms. He went on to underscore the importance of implementing UN security council resolution 425 calling for unconditional withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon. In this regard, the cabinet was briefed by Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal on the outcome of the 25th session of the foreign ministers of the member states of the Organization of the Islamic Conference which met recently in Doha. Turning to domestic matters, the cabinet then issued a number of resolutions, including approval of the Kingdom's participation in the joint meeting of the Arab ministers of interior and justice scheduled from April 22-24, 1998, in Cairo, to discuss a draft agreement on combating terrorism, authorizing the Interior Minister and the Justice Minister to sign such an agreement. Also approved was a protocol of cultural cooperation between the Kingdom and the government of the Republic of Tunisia which was signed in Tunis on February 27, 1998. The meeting concluded with the announcement that the next session of the Council of Ministers would take place on April 20, 1998.
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