Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Chairs Cabinet's Session

Riyadh, January 28, 2020, SPA -- The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet's session held at Al-Yamamah Palace here today. At the outset of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on a report on the meetings and discussions of the Kingdom’s delegation with senior officials and economic decision makers at the World Economic Forum in Davos, on achieving sustainable development goals that contribute to the stability of global economy and the welfare of societies and finding solutions to global challenges. The report also reviewed the Kingdom's developing of strategic relations with the Forum, especially as it chairs the 2020 G20 and that the group’s agenda are in line with Kingdom's. The report reviewed the Kingdom’s leading and influential role in the stability of global energy markets, highlighting achieved reforms within the Kingdom's Vision 2030 programs and its strategic priorities. The Cabinet reviewed the Kingdom's follow-up on developments of the oil market resulting from negative expectations of the potential impact of Coronavirus outbreak on the Chinese and global economy, including oil market balances, and its confidence in the Chinese government and the international community to end this virus, confirming that the Kingdom and OPEC + countries possess the capabilities and flexibility to respond to any changes, by taking necessary measures to support the stability of oil markets. The Minister of Media, Turki bin Abdullah Al-Shabanah, pointed out in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency after the session that the Cabinet welcomed the cooperation announced by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) through its partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to hold the Global FDI Summit in October, in Riyadh, which will be held for the first time in the Middle East with 250 participants from experts and international decision makers. The Summit will be held within the framework of the Kingdom's plans and endeavors to attract foreign investments with its great successes over two consecutive years that showed confidence in the Saudi economy, resulting in more than 1130 foreign companies in 2019 entering the Saudi market, marking an increase of 45% over the year 2018. The Cabinet hailed the efforts exerted by the Kingdom’s government under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and HRH the Crown Prince to eradicate financial and administrative corruption and consolidate the principles of transparency, justice and economic reform, indicating, in this context, the progress made by the Kingdom in the ranking of Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for the year 2019 and its progress among the G20 economies. The Minister of Media stated that the Cabinet reviewed a number of reports on the latest developments at regional and international arenas, affirming the Kingdom's stance on various conflicts in the region. The Cabinet called for a restraint, calm and dialogue, rejecting foreign interferences in the Libyan issue, violations of the Security Council's resolutions and a military escalation. The Cabinet affirmed the Kingdom's support for the Libyan people and its respect of their will, stressing that the Kingdom stands at an equal distance from all Libyan parties. The Cabinet followed the Kingdom's affirmation before the European Parliament about its relations with the European Union, its policy in addressing foreign challenges, its firm stance against interference in its internal affairs and its keenness of the region's stability in addition to the growth and prosperity it achieved domestically in various fields and working towards the success of the ambitious programs of the Kingdom Vision 2030 in order to achieve national achievements and reforms. On domestic affairs, the Cabinet affirmed that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques' kind patronage of the closing ceremony of 4th King Abdulaziz Camel Festival and awarding the prizes reflected his appreciation for the exerted efforts of taking care of camels and encouraging their owners through organizing this annual festival which deals with this national heritage in the Kingdom's history. --SPA