HRH the Crown Prince Chairs Cabinet Session in Jeddah
His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, chaired the Cabinet session held in Jeddah on Tuesday.
At the outset of the session, the Cabinet reviewed several periodic performance reports on the programs of the Saudi Vision 2030, many of whose achievements have already been realized on the ground.
In this regard, the Cabinet commended the swift advancement of housing and health sector transformation programs, notably to elevate homeownership rates among Saudi families, delivering thousands of housing units to developmental housing beneficiaries, and improving healthcare accessibility, quality, and life expectancy through efforts dedicated to public health and community vitality.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) following the Cabinet session, Minister of Media Salman bin Yousef Al-Dossary indicated that the Cabinet discussed the Kingdom's high rankings in labor-market indicators issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF), highlighting the record-breaking increase in Saudis employed in the private sector. The number of Saudi workers in the private sector rose from 1.7 million in 2019 to over 2.3 million in 2024, while the unemployment rate decreased to 6.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
The Cabinet also discussed the submission to FIFA of Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup, reaffirming the Kingdom's commitment to delivering an exceptional edition of the tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time in the history of the World Cup in a single country, showcasing Saudi Arabia's leadership across various levels and fields.
Moreover, the Cabinet praised the decision of the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Committee to add the "Cultural Landscape of Al-Faw Archaeological Area" in the Riyadh region to the World Heritage List. This marks the eighth site in Saudi Arabia to be listed, achieving one of the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030.
On the international front, the Cabinet reviewed the recent discussions between the Kingdom and various countries aimed at enhancing relations and advancing cooperation to new levels of prosperity and progress, both to support mutual interests and facilitate bilateral and multilateral coordination on global challenges.
In this context, the Cabinet reviewed the outcomes of the Kingdom’s participation in the meetings held under the Group of Twenty (G20) framework, which highlighted its efforts and initiatives supporting the achievement of sustainable development goals (SDGs), continued economic progress, and the enhancement of global responses to humanitarian issues.
The media minister stated that the Cabinet welcomed the outcomes of the second consultative meeting on enhancing coordination of peace initiatives and efforts in Sudan, reaffirming the Kingdom’s commitment to continue its efforts to resolve the crisis in this brotherly country and restore security and stability.
The Cabinet also emphasized the Kingdom's continued support for Yemen and its brotherly people, encouraging efforts to de-escalate tensions, maintain calm, and contribute to achieving a comprehensive political solution within the framework of the United Nations-sponsored roadmap to support the peace path.
Reviewing the outcomes of the 2nd Baghdad International Regional Conference on Combating Drugs, the Cabinet underlined the Kingdom's commitment to reinforcing international cooperation in this area and highlighted the success of the security campaign in confronting the threat of drugs and related crimes.
The Cabinet tackled other items on its agenda and issued several decisions, among which the following:
First:
Approving a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
Second:
Approving a headquarters agreement between the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-Habitat).
Third:
Authorizing minister of culture, or a deputy, to negotiate and sign with the Portuguese side a draft memorandum of understanding for cultural cooperation.
Fourth:
Authorizing minister of tourism, or a deputy, to negotiate and sign with the Cuban side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism.
Fifth:
Approving a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of tourism between Saudi Ministry of Tourism and Tunisian Ministry of Tourism.
Sixth:
Approving of a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Ministry of Investment and Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Trade for cooperation in promoting direct investment.
Seventh:
Approving a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning and Bahraini Ministry of Finance and National Economy in the field of economics and planning.
Eighth:
Approving of a memorandum on cooperation between Saudi Small and Medium Enterprises General Authority “Monsha’at,” and Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO) in the field of supporting and developing SMEs and entrepreneurship.
Ninth:
Approving two agreements between the Saudi government and both the Ugandan and Guatemalan sides in the field of air transport services.
Tenth:
Authorizing the president of the General Court of Audit, or a deputy, to discuss and sign with the Pakistani side a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the work areas of accounting, auditing, and professionalism.
Eleventh:
Authorizing the minister of finance, chairman of the board of directors of the National Center for Privatization, or a deputy, to discuss and sign with the Kuwaiti side a draft memorandum of understanding between the National Center for Privatization and the Kuwait Authority for Partnership Projects (KAPP) for cooperation in the field of public-private partnerships.
Twelfth:
Authorizing the minister of health, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi National Institute of Health (NIH), or a deputy, to discuss and sign with the American side a draft MoU for cooperation between the NIH and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) in the United States in the field of medical research on infectious diseases.
Thirteenth:
Approving a memorandum of understanding between Saudi Institute of Public Administration and Bahrain's Institute of Public Administration.
Fourteenth:
Approving the guidance manual for public entities governance.
Fifteenth:
Approving the product safety system and the standards and quality system.
Sixteenth:
Granting the General Authority for Awqaf the authority to invest the real-estate funds under its custody, whose ownership has been transferred for public benefit.