Council of Ministers has reiterated its condemnation of the Houthi coup in Yemen. (SPA)

The Kingdom’s Council of Ministers has reiterated its condemnation of the Houthi coup in Yemen and called for a peaceful resolution of the political impasse based on the Gulf initiative and the Yemeni national dialogue.

At its weekly meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace on Monday, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, the Cabinet said every effort must be made to ensure Yemen’s security and regional stability.

Adel Al-Toraifi, minister of culture and information, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency, said the Cabinet praised the efforts of the ministerial council of the Gulf Cooperation Council, for its resolution on the Yemeni issue.

The meeting also condemned the Islamic State group for executing 21 Egyptians in Libya, and expressed condolences to President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and the families of the victims, said Al-Toraifi.

King Salman briefed the council on the visits of Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, emir of Kuwait, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and a message received from President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria.

Al-Toraifi said King Salman also briefed the ministers on his telephone conversation with King Philip VI of Spain, and discussed regional and international events.

The Cabinet welcomed the UN Security Council’s resolution adopted last Thursday that sought to cut off the sources of terrorist financing. It stressed that the Kingdom is playing a crucial role in fighting terrorism, said Al-Toraifi.

He said that the Cabinet approved a security cooperation deal with Spain signed in Jeddah last year. Under the deal, the two sides would fight all forms of crimes related to the support or financing of terror operations and smuggling.

He said the Cabinet ministers also discussed local affairs including upcoming events such as the Saudi Conference of Emergency Medicine, and the 26th World Scientific Conference on Heart Disease, which aims to improve health provision in the country.

The Cabinet approved the Saudi Food and Drug Authority’s membership of the National Tobacco Control Committee, which was approved by the Council of Ministers in 2007.

The Cabinet decided to replace the word “military forces” with the term “armed forces” in all its legislation and official government communication.

Appointments

The Council of Ministers also approved several new appointments including Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Firaih as a member of the Saudi Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) board, to represent the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency.

Another new appointment was that of Abdullah bin Salih bin Abdullah Al-Awwad as ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those appointed to plenipotentiary posts at the foreign ministry were Abdullah bin Mudhif bin Daifallah Al-Talhim, Ali bin Abdullah bin Omar Ba-Haitham, Mansour bin Awwad bin Mohamed Al-Khiraishi and Abdullah bin Mohamed bin Nasir bin Rashidan.

Mohamed bin Abdullah bin Abdulkarim was appointed adviser at the Ministry of Water and Electricity and Talq bin Faihan bin Batta Al-Ataibi director for administration and finance at the Ministry of Interior.

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