King Salman

:: The Cabinet on Monday congratulated Emmanuel Macron for being elected president of France, and wished the French people progress and prosperity.

Chaired by King Salman at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah, the Cabinet welcomed the joint statement of the Saudi-Qatari Coordination Council last Tuesday, which stressed the need to deal with events in certain Arab and Islamic countries in a way that ensures the safety, stability and prosperity of their peoples.

The Cabinet also welcomed the statement’s call for concerted international efforts to confront terrorism at the security, intellectual, financial, media and military levels.

The Cabinet said the Kingdom’s care for local and international Qur’anic contests showed the leadership’s keenness in encouraging Muslim youths to stay committed to the teachings of Islam and the values of moderation.

It cited the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz annual contest for memorizing the Holy Qur’an in Jakarta, and the Prince Naif Holy Qur’an Memorization Contest for military personnel.

The Cabinet expressed appreciation for anti-drugs efforts by security authorities, including the hunting down of 1,628 suspects for involvement in receiving and trafficking drugs in the last six months.

It lauded the contents of the just-concluded 12th Euromoney Saudi Arabia conference 2017, especially those related to projects conforming to Vision 2030.

It also expressed pride in the strength of the Kingdom’s financial position in light of the increase in financial reserves and the doubling of gross domestic product (GDP) in the last 10 years, representing nearly 50 percent of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economy.

The Cabinet authorized the foreign minister, or whomever he authorizes, to discuss with the Swedish side a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) for political consultations between the foreign ministries of both countries.

The Cabinet approved an MoU on housing between the Saudi and Egyptian housing ministries, and authorized the finance minister to issue necessary licenses for the Gulf International Bank.