Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Chairs Cabinet's Virtual Session

NEOM, August 31, 2021, SPA -- Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prime Minister, chaired the Cabinet's virtual session today. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet reviewed the recent talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a number of countries that aim at consolidating cooperation in a way that contributes to promoting relations at all levels. In this context, the Cabinet touched upon the agreements that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia signed, including the one with the Russian Federation in the military field, as agreement comes as part of the two governments' continuous efforts to develop bilateral relations in order to support the international peace and stability, as well as signing a protocol amendment to the minutes for establishing a Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council, which is a comprehensive framework to advance bilateral partnership to broader horizons in accordance with the Kingdom Vision 2030 and Qatar Vision 2030, in a manner that meets the aspirations of the two leaderships and serves the interests of the two peoples. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Minister of State, Cabinet's Member and Acting Minister of Media Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed disclosed that the Cabinet reviewed the contents of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia affirmed its commitment to support the stability and development of the Republic of Iraq as well as standing by its side towards a bright and promising future in line with its Arab, regional and international status. Saudi Arabia also confirmed that it will continue to cooperate and coordinate with the countries in the region to confront the threat of extremism and terrorism, asserting its rejection of the activities of foreign interference in some Arab countries. The Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the latest developments in the region and the world, expressing hope for the return of relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria as soon as possible. The Cabinet called on the brothers in the two countries to give precedence to dialogue and diplomacy to find solutions to contentious issues in a way that contributes to opening a new page for relations between the two brotherly countries, in order to benefit their peoples, achieve security and stability for the region, and enhance joint Arab action. The Cabinet considered Iran-backed terrorist Houthi militia’s two attempts to attack Abha International Airport in a systematic and deliberate manner, whereas one of them resulted in injuries and damage to a civilian aircraft, as a continuation of hostilities and war crimes targeting passengers of different nationalities and the airport staff, stressing that all measures have been taken to protect civilians and civilian objects in accordance with the international humanitarian law and its customary rules. The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom's strong condemnation and denunciation of the terrorist attack that targeted Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, affirming Saudi Arabia’s position in rejecting these criminal acts, which contradict all religious principles and moral and human values. With regard to domestic affairs, the Cabinet considered the Kingdom’s launch of a package of qualitative initiatives and technological programs, in cooperation with ten of the world's key technology giants and with a total value of nearly SAR 4 billion, which constitutes the biggest technological launch of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa, as a translation of the directives of leadership, in order to achieve the goals of the Kingdom Vision 2030 to seize the opportunities of the digital economy and consolidate the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's position as a regional technological hub for the most important entrepreneurs, innovators and programmers. The Cabinet, on the occasion of the start of the new academic year, emphasized the state’s interest in improving the quality of education since it is a basic pillar to achieve aspirations towards progress, prosperity, development and advancement in knowledge and sciences. This includes working on developing curricula, study plans, and digital platforms in order to apply and keep pace with the best international practices and achieve the objectives of human capacity development and the programs of the Kingdom Vision 2030. --SPA