Business & Money | Tuesday 20 January, 2015 10:29 am |

The Council of Ministers, chaired by Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, on Monday authorized Labor Minister Adel Fakeih to sign agreements with labor-exporting countries for the recruitment of foreign workers.
“The draft agreements for the recruitment of workers will be signed between the Ministry of Labor and its counterparts in other countries,” said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy. These accords would be submitted to the Cabinet for its endorsement.

Earlier, the crown prince thanked world leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Saudi citizens, for inquiring about the health of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.
He also briefed the Cabinet on the message of President Catherine Samba Panza of the Central African Republic to King Abdullah, and the results of his meetings with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the US Senate delegation.

The Cabinet also authorized the president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) to discuss with the Senegalese authorities several amendments to the bilateral agreement for the operation of an international airline service between their respective territories and beyond.
The GACA chief is also authorized to hold talks with the Sudanese authorities on amendments to the air transport agreement, by adding articles concerning the definition of carriers and aviation safety standards.

The Cabinet approved changes to two paragraphs of the Kingdom’s rules and procedures to address the delay in the implementation of government projects for another three years, Al-Khodairy said.
The Cabinet commended the King Abdullah International Translation Award, whose awards ceremony was held at the UN headquarters in Geneva last Thursday, for promoting cultural exchange. It also praised the Souk Okaz festival in Taif for highlighting the Kingdom’s rich culture and heritage.

The Cabinet welcomed the decisions adopted by the Conference of Arab Culture Ministers in Riyadh, stressing its role in achieving Arab cultural and creative renaissance, Al-Khodairy said.
The Council of Ministers expressed satisfaction with the intensification of efforts by the Kingdom’s national aid campaign to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey during the current severe winter.
The Cabinet also welcomed the decisions issued by the Arab League council following a meeting in Cairo last Thursday. This includes the efforts to rally international support for the re-introduction of a new Arab draft resolution at the UN Security Council to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

Al-Khodairy said the Cabinet approved an agreement with South Africa to cooperate in the field of tourism. It further authorized the minister of civil service to hold talks with the Canadian authorities to sign a cooperation agreement.

The Cabinet appointed Eid bin Mohammed Al-Thaqafi as ambassador, Ibrahim bin Saad Bishan as minister plenipotentiary and Abdullah bin Fahd Al-Qahtani as minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry.

It also confirmed the appointment of Abdullah bin Suleiman Mubarak as assistant undersecretary at Riyadh governorate; Munawar bin Ayedh Almaimooni as director general of information technology at the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution; Jamal bin Abdullah Ajaji as economic adviser at the Ministry of Finance; and Mishaan bin Marzouq Al-Mutairi as director general of Dar Al-Ifta in the Eastern Province.