Saudi King underlines importance of measures against Qatar

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz on Monday chaired a national cabinet session at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah during which he wished the recently empowered Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman success.

The King also expressed his thanks and appreciation to Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz for his exerted efforts in serving the kingdom, reported the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). On the other hand, King Salman welcomed Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Minister of Interior, wishing him, princes, ministers and officials appointed to their new posts all success.

King Salman expressed his happiness that the millions of Muslims worldwide have completed the holy month of fasting, Ramadan. He also positively reviewed millions of Umrah performers who carried out rituals during the holy month. The King also thanked all government and private sectors for their efforts in attending the needs of visitors and Umrah performers and visitors to perform their rituals easily and comfortably.

The King briefed the Cabinet on the telephone calls made during the past few days with a number of leaders of sisterly and friendly countries on bilateral relations and latest developments in the region and the world.

The Cabinet valued the King’s invitation to hold a Saudi-African summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at the end of this year 2017 or beginning of next year 2018, as the invitation was conveyed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir to President of 29th ordinary African Summit held in the Republic of Ethiopia.

The Cabinet also appreciated the welcome of leaders of the G20 summit countries for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s hosting G20 Summit in 2020. King Salman and Cabinet members have welcomed the selection of Prince Mohammed bin Salman as crown prince, deputy premier, and continuing as minister of defense and other missions assigned to him.

Chairing the Cabinet session on Monday at the Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, the king also expressed thanks to Prince Mohammed bin Naif for his efforts in the service of the religion and the Kingdom. The Cabinet appreciated the king’s invitation to hold a Saudi-African summit in the Kingdom at the end of the current year or beginning of 2018, and praised the welcome expressed by leaders of the G-20 Summit for the Kingdom’s hosting of the G-20 Summit in 2020 which came on the directives of King Salman.

The Cabinet expressed thanks to participants of the G-20 Summit for their appreciation of the Kingdom’s efforts in combating terrorism. They stressed that fighting terrorism and promoting values of moderation are an international responsibility requiring effective cooperation among all states as terrorism has no religion and it targets the world.

They also praised the king’s approval on adopting public health as a policy and priority in all laws and regulations for disease control and prevention. This reflects the attention of the leadership to the health of citizens and for providing medical care for them.

On regional issues, the Cabinet expressed thanks to the king for directing the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) to urgently fight and contain cholera in Yemen, and to the crown prince for providing $66.7 million as a response to WHO and UNICEF’s appeals to fight cholera in Yemen.

On the security front, the Cabinet commended security authorities for thwarting an imminent terror act targeting the Grand Mosque during Ramadan and arresting five members of the terror group. The Cabinet also condemned the terror acts that targeted security patrols in Qatif province which resulted in the martyrdom of two security men and injuries to others. They stressed the capability of security authorities in confronting criminal plans and strictly dealing with those who try to tamper with the Kingdom’s safety and stability.

The Cabinet also explored the joint statement issued by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Bahrain after receiving the Qatari response from Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait. The Cabinet expressed thanks to the Kuwaiti emir for his efforts to resolve the crisis with the Qatari government within the framework of his keenness toward the unity of Gulf and Arab ranks. The Cabinet said measures taken by the four countries are directed at the Qatari government to correct its path, which seeks to break up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and destabilize the countries in the region by intervening in their affairs.