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June 3, 2005 |
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PRINCE ABDULLAH: THE GCC'S ABILITY TO CONFRONT CHALLENGES IS TIED TO THE UNITY OF THE COUNCIL. PRINCE SULTAN IBN ABDUL AZIZ EMPHASIZES SAUDI ARABIA'S EFFORTS TO GET ALONG WITH INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS. PRINCE NAIF IBN ABDUL AZIZ: TERRORISM IS A CRIME AND WE REJECT ANY SAUDI WHO TAKES PART IN TERRORIST ACTS. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz sent a cable of congratulations to President Stjepan Mesic of Croatia on the occasion of his country's National Day. In his own name and on behalf of the people and government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques wished the President of Croatia continuous good health and happiness and his people steady progress and prosperity. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, chaired the cabinet's weekly session at Al-Yamamah palace in Riyadh. At the outset of the session, the Crown Prince reassured all about the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, noting that the medical checkups which he has recently undergone proved that his health condition has been stable and satisfactory. He wished the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques good health, praying to Almighty Allah to preserve him for his country and nation. The Crown Prince expressed his appreciation and thanks to the leaders of the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Arab, Islamic and friendly countries and citizens at home and abroad for their noble feelings spelled out towards the King. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the session, Iyad Ibn Amin Madani, the Minister of Culture and Information, said that the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on the decisions taken by GCC leaders in their 7th consultative meeting, and on the developments of political, regional and international security issues particularly the Palestinian cause, the peace process in the Middle East, the combating of terrorism and the process of development and modernization and inter-relations in the region. The Crown Prince stressed that the GCC's ability to confront challenges is tied to the unity in the Council. The Cabinet satisfactorily noted the positive results of the meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, the Minister said. The Minister said the Cabinet then reviewed the local items on its agenda and issued the following decisions: In accordance with the resolution of the GCC 25th summit held in Bahrain last year, the Cabinet decided to exempt raw and half-processed diamond from customs tariffs. The Cabinet also, with some reservations, ratified the final documents issued by the International Communications Federation Commissioners' conference held in Morocco from 16 Rajab - 12 Shaaban 1423 H. Upon recommendations submitted by the Minister of Agriculture, the Cabinet named the actions considered contradictory to the GCC veterinary quarantine system and the penalties that would be imposed on violators. Violators will be held responsible regardless of whether the violation has been committed directly by themselves or through third parties. Live animals, their products, fodders, animal biological bio-products and animal tools are subject to the system. Attack on an officer while performing legal duties or resisting, threatening or objecting to him is also considered a violation. Whoever deliberately gives false information to obtain legal documents is also subject to punishment. Nobody is allowed to amend any of the documents issued according to this system or its executive regulations. Violators receive fines ranging from not less than SR5,000 and not more than SR10,000 for having contradicted the regulations stated in Paragraph (a) of Article (1); not less than SR20,000 and not more than SR50,000 for violators of paragraph (b) of Article (1); not less than SR10,000 and not more than SR15,000 for violators of paragraphs (c) and (d) of Article (1); not less than SR1,000 and not more than SR10,000 for violators of any other rule of this system or its executive regulations. Appeals could be considered by the court of grievance within 60 days of the date of notifying the decision to the concerned violator(s). The Cabinet approved a proposal by the Minister of Health to pay each of the Chairman and members of the Health Services Council a financial bonus worth SR1,000 for attending each session of the council, provided that the total payment will not exceed SR15,000 a year. The Cabinet approved the appointment of Dr. Salih Ibn Abdul Aziz Ibn Mohammed Alaqeel as Legal Consultant at the Ministry of Justice; Hassan Ibn Ahmed Ibn Nassir Al Hossein as Director General of Administrative Development at the National Guard headquarters; and Abdullah Ibn Rajaa Ibn Gobail Al Harbi as Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Work Force Training and Development. On the other hand Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard received last night a telephone call from Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak during which the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince told Mubarak that the medical tests are proceeding normally and thanked the Egyptian President for his noble feelings. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz has been in a stable and satisfactory health condition, the Royal Court stated in a supplementary statement. The statement said that as regards the admission of the King to Riyadh-based King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, the monarch has undergone the required medical checkups which proved that his health condition has been stable and satisfactory. It added that the remaining checkups will be completed later, wishing the King good health. In a press conference Replying to a question on the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz, Prince Saud Al-Faisal said, '' Praise be to Almighty Allah, his condition has been stable and doctors have reassured us about his health''. Prince Saud wished the monarch a quick recovery. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard received a telephone call from Lebanon's Prime Minister Najeeb Meqati during which the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince told Meqati that the medical tests are proceeding normally and thanked the Lebanese Prime Minister for his noble feelings. King Juan Carlos of Spain and Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah made telephone calls at the residence of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The calls were received by Prince Salman Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Governor of Riyadh Region, who reassured them about the good health of King Fahd and thanked them for their noble feelings. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard received a telephone call from King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussain of Jordan during which the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince thanked the Jordanian King for his brotherly feelings. The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), Kofi Annan has wished speedy recovery of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. This was announced by the spokesman of the UN's Secretary General, Steven Doyaritch. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from President Mohammed Khatami of Iran during which the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince thanked the Iranian President for his noble feelings. During the conversation, relations between the two countries and ways of enhancing them were also reviewed. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from Syria's Vice President Abdulhaleem Khaddam. During the conversation, the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince thanked the Syrian President for his noble feelings. Crown Prince Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Commander of the National Guard, received a telephone call from President Omar Hassan Al Basheir of Sudan during which the Crown Prince reassured him about the good health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz. The Crown Prince thanked President Al Basheir for his noble feelings. During the conversation, fraternal ties binding the two countries and regional and international developments were also reviewed. On the other hand Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, patronized the graduation ceremony of a new batch of university graduates army officers. He was received at the venue by Prince Khalid Ibn Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General for Military Affairs, General Salih Ibn Ali Almohayya, Chief of General Staff, commanders, and senior officers. In a statement following the ceremony, Prince Sultan reassured the press that the health of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd Ibn Abdul Aziz is good and continuously improving, wishing the monarch quick recovery. Asked when the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is expected to be discharged from the hospital, Prince Sultan said this will be decided by doctors. "Hopefully soon", he said. The ceremony was attended by Prince Bandar Ibn Mohammed Ibn Abdul Rahman; Prince General Mit'eb Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz, Assistant Deputy Commander of the National Guard for Military Affairs, a number of princes, commanders, senior officers and graduates' fathers and sponsors. Meanwhile Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, the Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, confirmed that among the several blessings bestowed by Almighty Allah on this country are that it is home of the two most holiest places on earth, birthplace of the holy Quran and that its leaders were honored by being custodians of the two holy mosques and servants of their worshippers. In a key address read on his behalf at the third Islamic Economy conference, organized in Makkah by Ummul Quran University, Prince Sultan said this conference is one of a series of charity works aiming at improving the economic process in the Islamic world. More than 130 experts from Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries debated nearly 50 research papers at the third Islamic economic conference, which was opened at Um Al-Qura University in Makkah. In his inaugural address to the conference, Prince Sultan, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation, emphasized Saudi Arabia's efforts to get along with international economic developments. "We have adopted a series of economic reforms and regulatory measures. For example, we have modernized regulations of foreign investment, reorganized the capital market and are holding negotiations to join the World Trade Organization," the Prince said. Prince Sultan also spoke about the Kingdom's privatization drive by selling out shares of state-run corporations to Saudi citizens through initial public offerings (IPOs). He was referring to the IPOs of Saudi Telecom and the National Company for Cooperative Insurance (NCCI). In his address, which was read out by Abdullah Al-Faiz, undersecretary at the Makkah governorate, Prince Sultan noted Saudi Arabia's pioneering role in promoting Islamic economics. "We believe that economics is part of the comprehensive Islamic system," he explained. In his welcome address, Dr. Nasser Al-Saleh, president of Um Al-Qura University and chairman of the organizing committee, thanked Prince Sultan for bearing all the expenses of the three-day conference. He said Um Al-Qura organized the event shouldering its responsibility in addressing modern economic and social issues. Dr. Muhammad Al-Oqla, undersecretary at the university for higher studies and research, emphasized Saudi Arabia's role in promoting Islamic economics by establishing departments for the subject at its universities. Dr. Saud Al-Shuraim, dean of the College of Shariah and Islamic Studies and imam of the Grand Mosque, said the conference discussed economic problems faced by Muslim countries, the progress of Islamic economics in theory and practice, and the challenges being faced by Islamic financial institutions from globalization. The first conference on Islamic economics was held in Makkah 30 years ago and was attended by more than 200 economists and researchers. The second conference was held at the Islamic University in Islamabad, Pakistan, on March 19-23, 1983 and debated 24 research papers on Islamic economics, Islamic banking and Zakat system. According to Dr. Nasser Al-Saleh, the current conference will have 11 working sessions with papers presented by 132 experts including 57 from outside Saudi Arabia. He said the conference would discuss the effect of free trade and other modern developments on the economies of Muslim countries. The first session of the conference, emphasized the need to tighten supervision of Islamic financial institutions including Islamic banks. It also dealt with the challenges facing Islamic banking. The health of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, who was admitted to a Riyadh hospital for medical examination, is steadily improving, Interior Minister Prince Naif said. "Thank God, his health is steadily improving," the Saudi Press Agency reported quoting Prince Naif, who spoke to the media after attending a convocation ceremony at the Public Security Training City in the capital. The minister criticized foreign news agencies for describing the king's condition as serious even after reassuring medical reports issued by the King Faisal Specialist Hospital where he had undergone medical tests. Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, Prince Naif also said that the Kingdom had received more than 30 Saudi detainees extradited by Syria. According to press reports, Syria arrested more than 300 Saudis over the past few weeks on suspicion they were en route to Iraq to fight alongside insurgents. Prince Naif refuted suggestions that new terror cells were in the making after Saudi security forces made remarkable success in a nationwide clampdown on Al-Qaeda militants. However, he pointed out that police had arrested some suspects who were planning to join the terror group. No terrorist cells under formation spotted, he said, denying circulating press reports that security forces have recently detected a new list of terrorists. We can guess that some companions of the detainees might have had the intention to join them at the moment they were apprehended, he analyzed. Asked about the trial of detainees following the most recent bombings in the Kingdom, he said they will all be brought to justice. Asked about the fate of Al Majati, a wanted suspect, Prince Naif said "I think he is dead as nothing is known about him". He confirmed that all victims of the terrorists incidents will be compensated. Prince Naif down played the influence of Saad Alfaqih, an opposition element in exile, saying that we don't demand his extradition because he doesn't even deserve to be mentioned. Prince Naif reassured that the Saudi authorities are always following-up the cases of Saudis in Guantanamo Bay, U.S. Interior Minister Prince Naif reported significant improvement in the health of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and said the king would soon leave hospital. "I have been to the hospital and would like to assure you that King Fahd's health has improved greatly and God willing he will make a speedy recovery," the Saudi Press Agency quoted the minister as saying. Asked whether the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had started receiving visitors, Prince Naif said the doctors had advised him not to do so. "God willing, he will receive visitors later," he told reporters in Riyadh. Prince Naif's statement followed earlier assurances by Prince Sultan Ibn Abdul Aziz, Second Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Aviation and Inspector General, who said the King's health was improving. Prince Sultan also expressed his hope that the king would soon leave the King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, where he was admitted last Friday for medical examinations. |
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