Ahmadinejad’s Abu Musa visit ‘setback to peace efforts’

April 17, 2012

The_king


Riyadh, April 17: The Council of Ministers yesterday denounced as a flagrant violation of the UAE’s sovereignty the visit of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UAE island of Abu Musa, which is occupied by Iran.


The Cabinet, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said Ahmadinejad's visit also invalidated the ongoing efforts to find a peaceful solution to the dispute through direct negotiations or taking the issue to the International Court of Justice.


Transport Minister and Acting Information Minister Jabara Al-Seraisry said the Cabinet meeting condemned last week’s terrorist attack in Bahrain that injured seven Bahraini policemen. It took place in the village of Akr, south of the capital Manama. Bahrain's public security chief Gen. Tareq Al-Hassan said an improvised bomb exploded last Monday (April 9) near a police checkpoint at the entrance to the village, "wounding seven policemen, three of them critically."


The Cabinet reiterated Saudi Arabia’s total support for Bahrain.


During the Cabinet meeting, King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and highlighted the deep-rooted Saudi-Turkish relations.


On other international issues, the Cabinet welcomed the decision taken by the UN Security Council on sending international observers to supervise a cease-fire in Syria.


“The Cabinet emphasized the need to stop the violence and end bloodbath of Syrian people,” Al-Seraisry said. The Kingdom also called for immediate steps to reach relief supplies including food and medicine to all Syrian victims. The first group of UN peacekeepers has arrived in Damascus to oversee the truce aimed at ending a year of bloodshed.


The Cabinet commended the resolutions taken by a forum for family issues at Shariah courts organized by the Justice Ministry, and endorsed an Arab agreement for combating information technology crimes. It also agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding on the conservation and management of dugongs and their habitats throughout the world.


The Cabinet appointed Saleh Al-Rasheed, director general of Saudi Industrial Property Authority (Modon), a member of the board of directors of Saudi Industrial Development Fund, in place of Commerce and Industry Minister Tawfiq Al-Rabiah.


It appointed Jamal bin Nasser Al-Molhem deputy mayor of Dammam for construction and projects; Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Sudairy assistant undersecretary for security affairs at Jazan governorate; Suleiman bin Abdullah Al-Tuwaijri director general of customs at King Fahd Causeway; Saad bin Muhammad Al-Sayari director of the office of the minister of communications and information technology; Aamir bin Abdul Mohsen Al-Dossari director general of the Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice’s branch office in the Asir region; and Abdullah bin Ali Al-Quraishi director of financial affairs at the general secretariat of the Cabinet.


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News Network
April 29,2020

Dubai, Apr 29: Saudi Arabia reported 1,325 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 21,402, the Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday (April 28).

Meanwhile, the ministry reported 169 recoveries today, with total recoveries in the kingdom at 2,953. There are 125 cases in intensive care.

The ministry also confirmed 5 deaths, bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 157.

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Agencies
June 18,2020

Riyadh, Jun 18: Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said that Saudi Arabia will resume tourist activities at the end of Shawwal (June 21) after a hiatus of more than three months due to lockdown measures imposed following the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic.

The minister made the remarks during a television interview after chairing the emergency meeting of the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism on Wednesday. He said that the current indications are positive and that the Kingdom is ready to launch the summer program, which will be a boost for domestic tourism.

“It was revealed in a research study carried out by the Tourism Authority that 80 percent of Saudi citizens want to take advantage of domestic tourism. We will launch the domestic tourism program for the public after having made necessary coordination with the Ministry of Health and the concerned higher authorities,” he said.

Several Arab tourism ministers and officials of the relevant organizations attended the meeting, which discussed the challenges that the region’s tourism sector is facing due to the pandemic. Al-Khateeb pointed out that the Arab Ministerial Council for Tourism, headed by Saudi Arabia, held the virtual session in exceptional circumstances to discuss ways to get out of this pandemic and revitalize the tourism sector.

“Saudi Arabia has initiated a package of financial stimulus activities with a total value of more than $61 billion to protect jobs and businesses and reduce the economic burden of the crisis. The domestic tourism sector has benefited from it as one of the important economic sectors, as it covered 60 percent of salaries of Saudi employees in the private sector for a period of three months,” he added.

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January 15,2020

Asia, Jan 15: Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Wednesday said that killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani showed the ignorance and arrogance of the United States and asserted that Washington looks at things from their perspective and not keeping the interests of the region in mind."The US looks at things from their perspective, not from the perspective of this region. The killing of Qassem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance. 430 Indian cities saw protests against killing of Soleimani," Zarif said at an event.

Hitting out at US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Zarif said that they were the only ones, along with the Islamic State (ISIS) who celebrated the death of Soleimani.

"Who is celebrating Soleimani's killing? President Trump, Pompeo and Daesh (Arabic name of ISIS). You wonder about strange bedfellows?" he said.

Tensions between the US and Iran soared dramatically earlier this month after Washington launched airstrikes at Baghdad International Airport, which killed Soleimani. Tehran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles at two military bases of US-led coalition forces in Iraq, leading to a strife in the region.

However, Zarif regretted the shooting down of the Ukrainian airline and said it happened because of "tension".

"Nine million people were out in the streets of Iran commemorating Soleimani. You cannot bring out so many people to protest. The shooting down of a plane was a mistake. 180 families are mourning the loss of their dear ones. It happened because of tension," he said.

Asked whether there a chance of a diplomatic solution to the ongoing crisis, Zarif ruled out negotiating with the US.

"Iran is interested in diplomacy. We are not interested in negotiating with the US. US did not keep its commitments under nuclear deal. We had a US deal and the US broke it. If we have a Trump deal, how long will it last?" he said.

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