NEOM - The Council of Ministers held its meeting today, Tuesday, 9 Rabi` al-Akhir, 1442 AH, corresponding to November 24, 2020 AD - through video communication - headed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Prime Minister.

At the beginning of the session, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques extended his thanks and appreciation to their Majesties, Excellencies, Highnesses and the state, and leaders of international organizations, for their active participation in the work of the fifteenth session of the G20 virtual summit headed by the Kingdom, during which the importance of international cooperation to confront the consequences of the pandemic was emphasized. Coronavirus and building a prosperous future for the people of the whole world, and on what has been achieved from fulfilling the commitment of states to continue working together to send messages of reassurance and hope to all peoples around the world, which is an achievement that crowns joint efforts in a year full of challenges, and enables the Kingdom to rise to the level of the challenge.

He affirmed the Kingdom's regional and international position, and its main role in the G20 to achieve more global cooperation and find collective solutions to the most pressing global challenges of the twenty-first century, and to focus, prepare and respond to future pandemics in a sustainable manner, again - may God protect him - his appreciation to the partners in the Troika Committee, Italy. And Japan, for their assistance in achieving the 2020 Kingdom’s presidency program, and its wishes for the Republic of Italy to succeed in presiding over the G20 next year.

The Council of Ministers commended what was included in the words of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques - may God preserve him - during the work of the G20 leaders summit, and the profound humanitarian messages he carried, comprehensive visions and solutions for a world of health and well-being, a better future for all, and great confidence in what efforts will lead to. Joint and international cooperation has important and decisive effects, and the adoption of policies at the economic and social levels, and informed about the progress made in developing vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tools for the Coronavirus, and working to provide fair and affordable access to all, especially in poor countries, and to promote job opportunities for all, especially for women and youth, in addition to creating The conditions for developing a more sustainable economy, including promoting the principle of a circular carbon economy to achieve the goals related to climate change, ensuring the creation of cleaner, more sustainable and affordable energy systems, preserving and protecting the environment, combating land degradation and preserving coral reefs and biodiversity, and endorsing the Riyadh initiative on the future of the World Trade Organization, To make the multilateral trading system more capable of meeting current and future challenges.

The Council also expressed its appreciation for what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince - may God preserve him - confirmed in the statement of the G20 Presidency following the conclusion of the G20 Summit, regarding the consecration of the Kingdom’s presidency, its efforts to build a stronger, more robust and sustainable world, in parallel with what the Kingdom is witnessing from A major economic and social transformation, in light of the Kingdom's vision 2030, the essential link the group forms between its countries, its role in dealing with economic, financial, social and environmental issues, and the leadership, participation and international cooperation recorded by the Presidency in confronting the Corona pandemic and addressing its consequences and effects that necessitated activating the pivotal role The group has a one-year summit meeting for the first time in one country in the group’s history, in order to confront the global crisis, and the initiative to take unprecedented and coordinated measures, including providing the necessary resources and financial pledges, in addition to exceptional measures to support peoples' economies and the flow of global trade movement, and to propose the initiative to address Of regulations by encouraging research, development and distribution of diagnostic tools, treatments and vaccines for all infectious diseases, and facilitating international funding for global pandemic preparedness, as well as Supporting the training of epidemiologists around the world.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques briefed the Council of Ministers on what was stated in the phone calls with His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Turkey, and President of the European Council Charles Michel.

His Excellency the Acting Minister of Information, Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi, stated that the council subsequently reviewed a number of reports on the Corona pandemic, its developments at the local and international levels, the latest statistics and indicators related to the virus in the Kingdom, and the work of laboratory tests, monitoring and permanent follow-up of all developments, and what is provided. For active cases of comprehensive health care and medical care, and the efforts taken to make the Kingdom among the first countries that will receive the anti-virus vaccine after making sure of its effectiveness and safety, in light of global progress in vaccine development.

The Council of Ministers reaffirmed the Kingdom's condemnation and strong condemnation of the cowardly terrorist attacks carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, including the targeting of a fuel tank at the petroleum products distribution station north of Jeddah, and that these terrorist acts of sabotage, which are committed against vital installations, do not target capabilities. The Kingdom's patriotism, but rather the backbone of the global economy and the security of its supplies, stressing the importance of addressing such sabotage and terrorist acts and the parties behind them.

And His Excellency Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi stated that the Council was briefed on a number of issues and developments of events and their developments on the Arab, regional and international levels, referring to the Kingdom's keenness to expand the horizons of bilateral cooperation with the Republic of Iraq and strengthen it in a way that serves common interests and mutual benefits between the two brotherly countries and peoples in different The fields, noting in this regard the operation of the new Arar border crossing, which was agreed to be opened in accordance with the results of the work of the Joint Coordination Council in its fourth session, which was approved by His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq.

The Council of Ministers affirmed the Kingdom's support for the efforts of the United Nations to stop the tragedy in Syria, and to help its brotherly people achieve their legitimate hopes, aspirations and aspirations, and the importance of combating all terrorist organizations in all their forms, welcoming the resumption of the work of the Constitutional Committee to move forward to a political solution that ends the suffering and guarantees a safe, voluntary and generous return. For refugees according to international standards.

The Council renewed the Kingdom’s call to the International Atomic Energy Agency to continue uncovering Iran's non-peaceful nuclear activities and intensify inspections within it to uncover any sites that it might use to carry out undeclared nuclear activities, in light of what was included in the report of the Agency’s Director General of monitoring the rise The amount of enriched uranium in Iran exceeds the permissible restrictions in the agreement, which is a continuation of the escalation and Iranian violations that were recorded in previous reports.

His Excellency stated that the Council of Ministers expressed the Kingdom's strong condemnation and condemnation of the terrorist attack that targeted residential neighborhoods in the Afghan capital, Kabul, and resulted in deaths and injuries, reaffirming the Kingdom's support for the sisterly Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in its efforts to combat violence, terrorism and extremism.

The Council reviewed the topics on its agenda.