Addressing the weekly Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah expressed his satisfaction for laying the foundation for the largest expansion of the Grand Mosque in Makkah and opening a number of vital projects in Makkah and Madinah, and hoped the new projects would benefit the guests of God who visit the holy places.
"Every effort should be made to improve facilities for the huge number of pilgrims who have arrived in the holy city and remove the obstacles facing them," the king told officials during the Cabinet meeting.
The Cabinet reviewed the progress of the national fundraising campaign to alleviate the suffering of the Somali people and urged Saudis and residents to respond positively to the king’s call by donating generously to the Somalia relief fund.
The king briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Jordanian King Abdallah and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al-Thani.
The Cabinet expressed deep sorrow over the killing of several people in different parts of the Islamic world during the past week and reiterated the Kingdom’s condemnation of terrorist activities.
The meeting also denounced the Israeli air strike on Gaza, killing and injuring several Palestinians. It urged the international community to stop Israel’s escalation of violence in the region.
Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said the Cabinet adopted a number of decisions to speed up implementation of delayed government projects.
The Cabinet also decided that a single person should not be allowed to become a member of more than five boards of directors of listed holding companies at a time. But one can become a board member of non-listed companies without any limit. A person can also become a member of both listed and non-listed companies.
The Cabinet banned real estate timesharing system in Makkah and Madinah on non-Saudis and urged the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities to enlighten the public on the matter and monitor violations.
The Cabinet appointed Ibrahim Al-Khalil as the mayor of Asir, Saad Muflehi, assistant undersecretary for environment affairs at the Presidency of Meteorology and Environment, Attiyah Al-Ghamdi, minister plenipotentiary at the Foreign Ministry, Muhammad Al-Zamil, economist at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and Othman Al-Raqie, director general of customs at King Abdul Aziz Port in Dammam.
