Chairing the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers today, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz congratulated George W. Bush on the occasion of his inauguration as the 43rd President of the United States of America. He went on to reiterate the importance of the relations that have existed between Saudi Arabia and the United States, and expressed confidence that these relations will be strengthened, serving mutual interests and enhancing the pillars of peace and stability in the region. The cabinet expressed its confidence that the new U.S. administration will continue its earlier efforts towards a quick settlement for the Palestinian problem and resumption of dialogue between the two parties concerned in order to guarantee the legitimate national rights of the Palestinians, including that of self-determination and the establishment of their independent state with Jerusalem as its capital. The cabinet hoped that the new U.S. administration would urge Israel to implement all the relevant United Nations resolutions without delay, in addition to lifting the siege imposed on the Palestinians and ending the ongoing bloodshed in the occupied territories.

The cabinet then reviewed a number of topics pertaining to serving the citizens, and passed several resolutions. King Fahd took the opportunity to exhort all ministers to exert utmost efforts to make the required arrangements for implementation of the various development projects included in this year's general State budget.

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