Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The Saudi Council of Ministers hailed the outcomes of the recent visit of Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman to the United States of America in further bolstering the strategic partnership between the two countries. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman chaired the Cabinet session in Riyadh on Tuesday.

At the outset of the session, the Crown Prince briefed the Cabinet on the results of his visit to the United States, including his discussions with President Donald Trump, saying that this reaffirmed the historical friendship between the two countries, spanning more than nine decades, and their strategic partnership.

The two leaders discussed strengthening cooperation to achieve the shared interests of both nations and their friendly peoples, and exchanged views on regional and international events and issues of mutual concern. Prince Mohammed bin Salman shed light on his meetings with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and several leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The Crown Prince also briefed the Cabinet on his meetings with President Trump, which emphasized the importance of strengthening the bonds of friendship between the two countries and supporting joint cooperation in a way that serves the common interests of both countries and their friendly peoples. In this context, the Cabinet praised the Saudi-American summit talks and the emphasis placed by both sides on strengthening and elevating relations between the two countries in various fields, and the signing of the Strategic Defense Agreement by the Crown Prince and President Trump.

This is in addition to the agreements signed during the visit, including the Strategic Partnership Document for Artificial Intelligence, the Joint Declaration on the completion of negotiations on cooperation in the field of civil nuclear energy, the Strategic Framework for cooperation in securing supply chains of uranium, metals, permanent magnets and critical metals, the Strategic Framework for facilitating procedures to accelerate Saudi investments and financial and economic partnership arrangements, and procedures related to cooperation in the financial markets sector, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of education and training.

The Cabinet noted that the Saudi-American Investment Forum witnessed the signing of a number of agreements, memoranda of understanding and declarations with a value of up to $270 billion, which reflects the Kingdom’s confidence in the strength of the American economy and its keenness to benefit from the opportunities available in the American market.

The Cabinet stated that this will enhance the returns on those opportunities that will be invested in the Kingdom's local economy, contributing to building a diversified and sustainable economy, creating opportunities for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), supporting the growth of the Saudi economy, and strengthening the strategic partnership between the two countries in various economic, energy, technology, education, military, and security sectors. This will enhance mutual benefits, support job creation in the Kingdom, contribute to technology localization and knowledge transfer, and boost GDP growth.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed, Minister of State and Member of the Council of Ministers for Shoura Council Affairs and Acting Minister of Media, said that the Council noted the summit discussions and the Crown Prince’s meetings, during which both sides emphasized the importance of achieving peace, security, and stability in the region. The Crown Prince expressed his gratitude to the US president for his efforts to end the war in Gaza, stressing the importance of ensuring a genuine path toward a two-state solution so that the Palestinian people can enjoy their legitimate rights.

The Cabinet appreciated President Trump's response to the Crown Prince’s emphasis on the importance of working to end the war in Sudan, preserving its unity, security and stability, and ending the humanitarian suffering of the Sudanese people.

The Council reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s commitment, at the meeting of the donor group for Palestine, to continue working with all partners to achieve the aspirations of the Palestinian people in establishing their independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. It stressed the necessity of a complete Israeli military withdrawal from the Gaza Strip so as to begin reconstruction and establish stability.

The Cabinet looked into the outcomes of the G20 Leaders' Summit held in South Africa, during which Saudi Arabia reiterated its support for efforts to reform the World Trade Organization and strengthen a fair and transparent multilateral trading system that enables countries to participate effectively in the global economy.

The Council reviewed the outcomes of the international events hosted by the Kingdom in recent days, noting the success of Cityscape Global 2025, which will contribute to enhancing the real estate sector's contribution to the national economy. The exhibition saw the launch of real estate deals worth SR237 billion, reflecting the size of the Saudi market globally and its attractiveness to local and international investments.

The Cabinet looked forward to the success of the 21st Global Manufacturing and Industrialization Summit held in Riyadh, with the participation of 173 countries, as part of the Kingdom's efforts to achieve sustainable industrial development and strengthen international partnerships. It also commended the Kingdom's election as President of the General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) for a two-year term, reflecting its leading role in global industry.

The Council lauded the overall work of the Financial Stability Board's Plenary Meeting and Emerging Markets Forum, the Middle East and Africa Innovation Summit held in Riyadh, and the election of Governor of the Saudi Central Bank to the Board of Directors of the Bank for International Settlements.

The Cabinet affirmed the Kingdom's commitment to establishing a judicial system that upholds the values of justice and safeguards rights. In this context, the council expressed its appreciation for the outcomes of the Second International Conference on Justice, held under the patronage of the Crown Prince, with the participation of more than 40 countries. The conference aimed to exchange expertise and enhance the competence of human resources in the field of judicial quality.

The Council also valued the recommendations issued by the Sixth Conference of the Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, hosted by the Kingdom with the participation of more than 30 countries. These recommendations included praise for the Saudi model of education quality developed by the Education and Training Evaluation Commission.

The Cabinet approved the Sports Law and the Financial Control Law. It also endorsed the National Privatization Strategy and amended certain articles of the Real Estate Registration Law. The Council approved the regulations for the Center for Supporting Development Bodies and Strategic Offices.

The Cabinet authorized the Minister of Energy or his deputy to discuss and sign a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the governments of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates concerning electrical interconnection, electricity exchange and sale, and railway interconnection. The Council approved the draft Joint Declaration between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Italy concerning the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council.

It authorized the Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture, or his deputy to discuss and sign the draft MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment of South Africa concerning cooperation in the field of environmental protection.

The Cabinet approved the draft MoU between the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the Civil Service Bureau of Palestine concerning cooperation in the field of human capital development, training, and capacity building, and another MoU between the Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority and the Customs and Indirect Tax Department of Hong Kong for the mutual recognition of their respective Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs.

The Council approved an agreement between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Montenegro in the field of air transport services, and another MoU between the Saudi General Authority for Statistics and Statistics Finland for cooperation in the field of statistics. The Cabinet approved a memorandum of cooperation in the field of intellectual property between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the National Center for Patents and Information under the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Tajikistan, and another MoU between the General Directorate of Financial Investigations of the Saudi Presidency of State Security and the Kuwaiti Financial Intelligence Unit regarding cooperation in the exchange of financial information related to money laundering, its predicate offenses, and the financing of terrorism.

The Council endorsed a MoU between the Saudi General Auditing Bureau and the Court of Accounts of Turkey for cooperation in the field of accounting, auditing and professional work, and another Memorandum of Cooperation between the Saudi Public Prosecution and the Prosecutor General's Office of the Kyrgyz Republic. It also approved a MoU for cooperation in curriculum development between the Saudi National Center for Curricula and the Ministry of Education and Higher Education of Palestine.