Cabinet welcomes ‘soaring’ SR200bn nonoil exports

The Cabinet on Monday welcomed the recommendations of the 34th meeting of the GCC Interior Ministers in Doha and highlighted the statement made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif at the meeting on the importance of global cooperation to fight terrorist organizations and their financiers, said Minister of Culture and Information Adel Al-Toraifi.

The Cabinet commended the participants of the fourth session of the joint Saudi-Russian Committee for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Moscow, for recommendations that would strengthen bilateral ties, said Al-Toraifi.
The minister said Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman briefed the Cabinet on his recent phone call to the emir of Kuwait, his meetings with the parliamentary speakers and representatives of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) recently in Riyadh, the founder of the World Economic Forum, and Austria’s foreign minister.
The Cabinet welcomed the country’s “soaring” non-oil exports amounting to SR200 billion, which was a direct result of support by the state for Saudi businesses to become competitive on international markets, he said.
Later, the Cabinet authorized the Ministry of Justice to sign a draft cooperation agreement with Russia, and the Ministry of Finance to sign a draft agreement on dual taxation and tax evasion with Jordan. The Cabinet further authorized the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to discuss a political memorandum of understanding with Bosnia.
In other decisions, the Cabinet approved rules regulating the gifts that officials are allowed to receive during official visits and events; and the approval of legislation to establish organizations that could help with voluntary and developmental work in the country.
The Cabinet further authorized King Abdullah City for Nuclear and Renewable Energy to discuss an agreement on nuclear energy with China; and for the Saudi Food and Drug Authority to seek an agreement with the US Food and Drug Administration on cooperation and the exchange of data.