The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques during his chairmanship of the Cabinet session in Jeddah

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Al Jazeera - SPA:

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may God protect him - chaired the session held by the Cabinet yesterday in Jeddah.

At the beginning of the session, the Cabinet reviewed the content of the telephone call received by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister - may God protect him - from His Excellency the President of the Republic of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, during which Saudi Arabia's supportive positions towards Lebanon and its efforts to achieve stability and peace in the region were appreciated.

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The Cabinet also followed up on the latest developments on the regional scene and their repercussions on international peace and security, expressing in this context its strongest condemnation of the false claims of the terrorist Houthi militia and its baseless accusations, and its involvement in a conflict in the region to support its sinister agenda and goals, which has deepened the suffering of the brotherly Yemeni people and threatened regional security and stability. It renewed its affirmation that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to support the brotherly Yemeni people and their legitimate government, and to take firm measures to protect its security and ships in accordance with international law and the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The Cabinet renewed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's solidarity and full standing with the State of Kuwait, the Kingdom of Bahrain, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the measures they take against the Iranian aggressions that violate international law and the principles of good neighborliness, and stressed the importance of an immediate halt to all forms of military escalation to preserve the stability of the region's countries and peoples.

His Excellency the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Acting Minister of Media, Engineer Ahmed bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi, stated in his briefing to the Saudi Press Agency after the session that the Cabinet then discussed the outcomes of the Kingdom's effective participation in international meetings and forums, praising in this context the joint national efforts and their contributions to the success of participation in the High-Level Political Forum for 2026 held at the United Nations, and what the third Voluntary National Review report reflected in terms of continued progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, especially in areas such as supporting water security, expanding renewable energy, improving access to healthcare services, developing digital government, flourishing industrial development, and inclusive economic growth.

The Cabinet touched on the contents of the United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting on the urban agenda, which highlighted the Kingdom's successes and achievements in building more sustainable and quality-of-life cities by raising the percentage of Saudi families owning homes, increasing per capita share of spaces and public places, developing the mobility system, and expanding community participation in the development process.

The Cabinet reviewed a set of reports, statistics, and indicators related to the national economy and the contribution of the reforms and policies pursued by the Kingdom in achieving a positive impact on growth rates, including the stability of the annual inflation rate at (1.8%) in the past period, continuing to record low levels compared to many advanced and emerging economies.

His Excellency stated that the Cabinet commended the Kingdom's progress to the (13th) position globally among the largest economies in attracting foreign direct investment in 2025, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development report, confirming that this achievement reflects the advanced position established by the Kingdom as a globally attractive investment destination, the effectiveness of economic reforms, and the growing confidence of investors in the investment environment, supported by the growth of net foreign direct investment flows by (53%) to reach (32.6) billion dollars, and the increased competitiveness of strategic sectors, foremost among them energy, infrastructure, technology, advanced industries, and logistics services.

The Cabinet reviewed the topics on its agenda, including topics that the Shura Council participated in studying, and reviewed the conclusions of the Political and Security Affairs Council, the Economic and Development Affairs Council, the General Committee of the Cabinet, and the Experts Authority of the Cabinet regarding them. The Cabinet reached the following:

First: Authorizing His Royal Highness the Minister of Interior - or his deputy - to negotiate with the Maldivian side concerning a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Maldives Police Service in the Republic of Maldives in the field of scientific, training, and research activities, and to sign it.

Second: Authorizing His Royal Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs - or his deputy - to negotiate with the Australian side concerning a draft memorandum of understanding on political consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia, and to sign it.

Third: Authorizing His Royal Highness the Minister of Culture, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Museums Authority - or his deputy - to negotiate with the Jordanian side concerning a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of museums between the authority and the Department of Antiquities of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, and to sign it.

Fourth: Authorizing His Excellency the Minister of Commerce, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization - or his deputy - to negotiate with the Chinese side concerning a draft memorandum of understanding on cooperation regarding technical barriers to trade between the organization and the State Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China, and to sign it.

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Fifth: Approving a memorandum of understanding between the General Directorate of Financial Investigation under the Presidency of State Security in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Financial Intelligence Service of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia for cooperation in the exchange of information related to combating money laundering, related crimes, and terrorist financing.

Sixth: Approving a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of the peaceful use of outer space between the Saudi Space Agency and the United Nations Organization.

Seventh: Approving a memorandum of understanding between the National Center for Non-Profit Sector Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities in the State of Qatar for cooperation in the non-profit sector.

Eighth: Approving the unified rules for owners of common real estate in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

Ninth: Transferring the authority to issue permits for importing, exporting, re-exporting, and clearing chemicals traded in local markets - as stipulated in the Chemicals Management System - from the Ministry of Commerce to each of: the Ministry of Interior and the Supreme Authority for Industrial Security, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources, and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority.

Tenth: Approving a mechanism for integrating roles between the Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission and the National Center for Cancer under the Saudi Health Council to meet nuclear and radiological regulatory requirements.

Eleventh: Appointing Dr. Abdullah bin Hussein Al-Qadi, Dr. Mohammed bin Hamdi Al-Jahdali, and Dr. Sultan bin Mansour Al-Sharif as members of the Board of Directors of the National Center for Wildlife Development.