Mideast countries have right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes: Saudi

October 11, 2016

Riyadh, Oct 11: The Cabinet, in its weekly meeting on Monday, reiterated Saudi Arabia's belief in the legitimate right of Middle Eastern countries to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, under supervision of and according to the International Agency for Atomic Energy standards.

saudi

The Kingdom gave voice to this belief just before the 71st UN General Assembly meeting discussing the importance of implementing the Agreement on Barring the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria.

The Cabinet also reviewed the outcome of the Arab League's extraordinary meeting, held at permanent representatives level, to discuss the serious situation in the Syrian city of Aleppo.
It acknowledged the Kingdom's assertion that it is important for Arab countries to stand by the Syrian people and exert all possible efforts, at the international level, to provide safe havens where relief can be delivered for civilians

The Cabinet asked the international community to break its silence over the crimes committed by the Syrian regime.

The Cabinet’s meeting was chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who briefed the ministers on the outcomes of his talks and meetings with Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, Italian defense minister, Japanese minister of economy, trade and industry and Japanese minister of state for foreign affairs.

During those meetings, bilateral relations as well as the developments in the regional and international arenas were discussed, as was the oral message received by the monarch from President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger.

The Cabinet praised the results of Al-Khaleej (Gulf) 1 shield maneuvers, which were carried out by the Saudi royal naval forces — Eastern Fleet — in the Arab Gulf and Oman Sea waters, across the Hormuz Strait as well as the joint aerial drill dubbed Al-Jazeerah (peninsula) conducted by Eagle (2016 fighters) in the UAE with the participation of air forces of the GCC member states.

Minister of Commerce and Investment Majid Al-Qassabi, who is also acting minister of culture and information, said in a statement to SPA after the meeting that the Cabinet discussed the Kingdom's participation in the joint annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF, and the meeting of the G20, which were held in Washington, and highlighted the efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia to implement economic reforms as part of the national transformation program to achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030.

He asserted that the application of these reforms is bound to yield a strong, balanced and sustainable economic growth, and to activate the role of the private sector in enhancing job opportunities and economic growth.

The minister said the Cabinet welcomed the outcome of the 28th GCC justice ministers' meeting, held in Riyadh, underscoring the importance of completing a study on transferring the current guiding systems to unified systems and laws as per the GCC supreme 36th summit, and based on the king’s vision.

The Cabinet was briefed on a host of activities and events held last week, including the agreement signed by the Ministry of Housing to construct more than 10,000 residential units in Tarout and Safwa centers in Qatif, the MoU signed by the Kingdom with Bulgaria in the fields of tourism and heritage, the 10th meeting of the general prosecutors and attorneys, as well as heads of investigation and general prosecution commissions of the GCC countries in addition to the symposium organized by the Global Union for General Transportation for the Middle East and North Africa under the theme Efficiency of Consuming Fuel and Alternative Energy.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
April 26,2020

Riyadh, Apr 26: The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia has issued an order to partially lift the curfew in all regions of the Kingdom, to become from 9am to 5pm, starting Sunday through Wednesday May 13, while keeping a 24-hour curfew in the holy city of Makkah and in previously isolated neighbourhoods, state news agency (SPA) said early on Sunday.

The order also allowed the opening of some economic and commercial activities, which include wholesale and retail shops in addition to malls.

They can operate for two weeks, beginning on April 29 (Wednesday) until May 13 (Ramadan 6-20), however, certain shops within malls like beauty clinics, barber salons, gyms, cinemas, and restaurants will continue to be restricted from reopening.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 26,2020

Riyadh, Mar 26: The video summit of the G20 leaders slated for Thursday will unite the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia's King Salman said.
"As the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges to healthcare systems and the global economy, we convene this extraordinary G20 summit to unite efforts towards a global response. May God spare humanity from all harm," tweeted King Salman, who will chair the summit.
The summit will be held today via video conference with an aim to advance a coordinated global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its human and economic implications, the Kingdom had said yesterday in a statement.
India is a member nation of the G20 group. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will take part in the summit, said that the Group of 20 (G20) has an important role to play in the fight against coronavirus.
He said: "The G20 has an important global role to play in addressing the #COVID19 pandemic. I look forward to productive discussions tomorrow at the G20 Virtual Summit, being coordinated by the Saudi G20 Presidency."
The other members of the group include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union.
Several international organisations -- including the United Nations, World Bank, the World Health Organization and the World Trade Organization will take part.

Leaders from the Food and Agriculture Organization, the Financial Stability Board, the International Labour Organization, International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -- will also be the part of the conference.

Regional organisations will be represented by: Vietnam, the Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); South Africa, the Chair of the African Union (AU); the United Arab Emirates, the Chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); and Rwanda, the Chair of the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
May 19,2020

Ramallah, May 19: India has given USD 2 million in aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency working for the welfare of Palestinian refugees in support of its core programmes and services, including education and health, amidst the coronavirus crisis.

India had increased its annual contribution to the UNRWA from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2019. It pledged another USD 5 million for 2020 which opens its way to become a member of the agency's advisory commission, according to official sources.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) applauded India's financial support to keep its basic services operating, especially under the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contribution was presented to the UN agency by the Representative of India (ROI) to the State of Palestine, Sunil Kumar.

"On behalf of the agency, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Government of India for advancing part of its contribution, which will help UNRWA address cash flow challenges," Marc Lassouaoui, chief of the Donor Relations at the agency said.

"The continued determination and commitment of India in support of the Palestine refugees is commendable, in particular under the current circumstances brought on us by COVID-19," he said.

"On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to express my appreciation for the commendable work and endeavours carried out by the UNRWA. We believe that our contribution will support the agency's activities in providing the needed assistance to Palestinian refugees, and assist in achieving their full human development potential," Kumar said.

India's contribution will support the agency's "dire" financial situation due to the funding gaps that risk its core services to the Palestinian refugees in the fields of education and health.

About 3.1 million Palestine refugees depend on health services provided by the UNRWA. At the same time, the agency's schools educate 526,000 students every year, of which half are female.

The agency was created in December 1949 by the UN to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.

The UNRWA definition of “refugee” covers Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 War.

Meanwhile, India is preparing medical supplies for the Palestinians to help them in their fight against the coronavirus which is likely to reach the Palestine soon, the Indian mission in the West Bank said in a statement.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month spoke to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas over phone and discussed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. He appreciated efforts being made by the Palestinian Authority (PA) to protect its population and assured all possible support from India.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar later talked to his Palestinian counterpart Riad Malki and reiterated India's commitment to support Palestine in its battle against the global pandemic.

So far, 554 COVID-19 cases have been detected in the West Bank under PA and east Jerusalem, with two casualties.

Twenty people were found infected with the virus in Gaza, of which 14 are said to have recovered.

Separately, 17 agreements have been signed under an India-Palestine development partnership between the two sides in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women empowerment and media in the past five years.

New Delhi is to provide an assistance of around USD 72 million through these agreements in projects like the post-2014 war reconstruction efforts in Gaza, construction of five schools, setting up a centre of excellence for information and communication technologies at Al-Quds University and developing a satellite centre in Ramallah.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.