King Salman

:: King Salman briefed the Cabinet on Tuesday on his talks with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi and the inaugural meeting this week of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council.

The new council must contribute to realizing the common interests of the two countries and to facing the dangerous challenges in the region, the king said, stressing Saudi support for the unity and stability of Iraq.

The Cabinet welcomed the new council’s joint statement on the importance of enhancing economic and trade relations, and the agreement on opening border crossings and the development of ports and roads.

The king also briefed the Cabinet on letters he sent to the Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and the Iraqi President, Fuad Masum, and the results of his meeting with the US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson.

Minister of Culture and Information, Awwad Al-Awwad, said the Cabinet valued the royal decree establishing the King Salman Complex for the Prophet’s Hadith in the city of Madinah.

The Cabinet also appreciated the king’s patronage of the Future Investment Initiative, which was launched on Tuesday in Riyadh and explores the evolving role of sovereign wealth in driving the next wave of business, innovation, technology and investment. Ministers commended the launch by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Neom future destination project.

The Cabinet discussed the appeal by Arab environment ministers to raise the issue of the systematic destruction by Israeli occupation forces of the Arab environment in the occupied territories, and to mobilize support for Arab issues.

Ministers strongly condemned the attack on security forces in the Egyptian city of Giza, the terrorist bombing of a police truck in Quetta, Pakistan, and the suicide attacks in Afghanistan. They renewed the solidarity of Saudi Arabia with these states against terrorist attacks.