:: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) ministers of interior, defense and foreign affairs recently held their 18th joint consultative meeting and expressed their desire to extend bridges of cooperation with regional countries to consolidate security and peace, and to expand economic cooperation.

Chaired by King Salman, the Cabinet at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah Monday commended the ministers’ efforts in preventing external interference in their internal affairs, attempts to infringe their national unity, incite sectarian strife, support terrorist groups and criminal activities, and hostile media campaigns.

The Cabinet appreciated the concerted efforts and coordinated stances of the GCC ministers to boost joint security in the Gulf.

The UN-sponsored donors’ conference is funding the humanitarian response plan in Yemen 2017 in Geneva.

The Cabinet noted the Kingdom’s donation of $150 million to support projects of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center in addition to another $100 million allocated to support KSRelief’s projects in Yemen.

The Kingdom’s condemnation of the two bombings that occurred in a Baghdad district, which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries was highlighted.

The efforts of the security personnel and their continued investigations of the crimes of the terror cell in the Jeddah province were appreciated by the Cabinet.

Efforts of the Border Guards in Jazan and their success in countering a possible terrorist attack of blowing up Saudi Aramco’s dock and oil product distribution station in Jazan using a booby-trapped boat were also commended.

Ten new programs announced by the Council of Economic Affairs and Development which reached completion in line with what has been approved in the National Transformation Program 2020 and the Financial Balance Program 2020 and are meant to support the Saudi Vision 2030, were all highlighted by the Cabinet.

A series of decisions approved by the Cabinet were:

• The minister of Islamic Affairs, Call and Guidance to discuss an MoU for cooperation in Islamic affairs between the Kingdom and Albania; the president of Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage to discuss an MoU for cooperation in tourism between the two countries.

• An agreement between the Kingdom and Egypt on the avoidance of double taxation and banning tax evasion on income tax and associated protocols.

• An MoU between the Saudi and Turkmenistan governments on sports.

• A cooperation protocol in science and technology between the Saudi King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology and the Turkish Council of Scientific Research and Technology.

• The establishment of a commercial mission in the Saudi Embassy in the Republic of Korea.

• The expansion of the work of the Water and Electricity Company, in its capacity as a major buyer of water, to include buying desalinated, treated and non-treated water and its right to sell it.

• The finance minister to provide the necessary credit support to the Water and Electricity Company in support of its financial competence.

Ministers of environment and water, and finance to take necessary regulatory measures to transfer ownership of the company into a full government-owned company.