Crown Prince Salman chairs the weekly Cabinet meeting in Jeddah. (SPA)

The Council of Ministers on Monday urged warring factions in neighboring Yemen to reconcile for the good of the country.

The Cabinet said it was concerned about events taking place in the troubled nation, and called on political groupings to seek consensus on national issues, rather than play into the hands of those seeking to destabilize the country.

Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, chaired the meeting in Jeddah on Monday.

The meeting also praised the country’s leadership for organizing a successful Haj this year. It underlined the recent public message of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, who called on Hajis to adhere to the Islamic principles of moderation and tolerance, and reject bloodshed, extremism and violence.

At the outset of the meeting, the ministers were briefed on the outcome of talks between King Abdullah and Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on cooperation between the two countries.

The Cabinet welcomed the holding in Egypt of the recent international conference for the reconstruction of Gaza.

The Cabinet also welcomed the convening of the Fourth International Conference on Disability and Rehabilitation currently taking place in Riyadh, and the Prince Salman awards handed out to researchers in the field, said Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja.

Khoja said the Cabinet authorized the General Authority of Civil Aviation to hold talks with the Philippines’ civil aviation authority on an air agreement related to flight safety standards.

It also authorized the Saudi Customs Department to hold talks with the World Customs Organization to set up a training center in Riyadh.

The ministers appointed members of the private sector to the board of the Social Charity Fund for four years, including Rashid bin Abdullah bin Sulaiman Al-Mutlaq, Salman bin Yusuf bin Ali Al-Dosari, Ali bin Othman bin Othman Al-Zaid, and Adil bin Abdulmuhasin bin Abdulwahhab Al-Mandeel.

Khoja said the ministers appointed members of the private sector onto the board of the Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon) for three years, including Muaid bin Esa Al-Qurtas, Riyadh bin Yusuf Al-Rabaie, Abdulkarim bin Ibrahim Al-Nafi, Iyad bin Abdulrahman Al-Bunyan, Ziyad bin Mohamed Al-Shiha, and Said bin Mohamed bin Zagar.

The Cabinet empowered the Saudi Food and Drug Authority to withdraw any food item that poses a threat to public health.

 
[wpResize]