Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz today chaired the regular weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers in Makkah, where he is spending the last ten days of the Holy Month of Ramadan. King Fahd began by expressing the Kingdom's appreciation for the sincere feelings of the leaders and peoples of countries worldwide who stood by the government and people of Saudi Arabia following the bombing attack at one of Riyadh's residential complexes. The attack, he said, was perpetrated by a deviant terrorist group whose aim is to destabilize the Kingdom, and led to the killing of many innocent and peaceful people, including children. He stressed that this international stance condemning these criminal and heinous incidents requires even greater efforts from all countries of the world to combat and eradicate all forms of terrorism. King Fahd went on to reiterate that terrorism is an international phenomenon that is not linked to any particular religion, race or country, adding that great initiatives are needed to combat it. He pointed out that the Kingdom, which has suffered from such terrorist incidents, was a pioneer in paying attention to the threat of terrorism, and in calling for it to be fought at all levels; and that Saudi Arabia has been an active player in endorsing agreements, international, Arab and Islamic, on combating terrorism.

Speaking from the vicinity of the Holy Ka'abah during the Holy Month of Ramadan, King Fahd called on all Islamic countries to cooperate and to unify their ranks in the service of Islam and Muslims; and prayed to God Almighty to uphold the Kingdom's security and stability and that of all Islamic countries, and to accept Muslims' fasting and prayers.
On the Iraqi situation, the cabinet welcomed the announcement that Iraq's Transitional Governing Council had reached a satisfactory agreement with the United States regarding concrete steps to transfer the government and authority to Iraqis. The cabinet noted that this agreement is a positive step on the right track towards the Iraqi people administering their own affairs and determining their own future in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1511. The cabinet expressed the hope that this action will lead to stability in Iraq and its emergence from its predicament; and called on all Iraqis to unify their ranks for the service of their country, its security and stability.
Turning to domestic issues, the cabinet passed a number of resolutions, including authorization for the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance or his deputy to negotiate a memorandum of understanding with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the area of Islamic affairs and endowments; authorization for the Minister of Education or his deputy to discuss educational cooperation with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development of the Republic of Korea; and approval of a system of health units dealing with infertility, provided that these units abide by the relevant official religious opinions (fatwas), the system to go into effect 120 days after its publication in the official gazette.

Return