The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz began the Cabinet session at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh today by recounting his most recent foreign contacts, including talks with Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Essam Sharaf, a message he sent to the Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, and a telephone call he received from Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

After reviewing the latest regional and international developments, the Cabinet was briefed on the outcome of the 35th Extraordinary Meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), convened May 1 in Riyadh to address the latest developments in Yemen. The ministers expressed hope that the efforts exerted by the Council will result in a final agreement that achieves security and stability in Yemen.

The Cabinet welcomed the Palestinian national reconciliation agreement concluded last week in Cairo, stressing the importance of unifying Palestinian efforts to establish an independent state. It also condemned the recent terrorist attack in Marrakesh, which killed a number of innocent people, and renewed the Kingdom’s call for firmly confronting the scourge of terrorism.

On domestic issues, the Cabinet welcomed the King’s order to amend some articles of the Printing and Publishing Law and hailed the royal directive to exempt the deceased from the repayment of loans provided by the Agricultural Development Fund. Finally, the ministers lauded the opening of the King Fahd Complex’s Forum for the Holy Quran’s Most Famous Calligraphists in Madinah and the First Saudi Conference for Orphan Care, organized by the Insan Charitable Society for the Care of Orphans in Riyadh.

Turning to its weekly agenda items, the Cabinet approved the Kingdom’s accession to the Convention on Road Traffic; approved the gradual teaching of the English language beginning in the fourth grade; and approved the renewal of the membership of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA) of Abdulaziz Al-Quraishi, Mohammed bin Zaqar, and Abdulaziz Al-Athel for five years.

The Cabinet appointed Abdullah Al-Asheikh as Minister Plenipotentiary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mohammed Al-Faar as Director General of the Minister’s Office at the Ministry of Water and Electricity (14th rank).