Saudi Gazette report
RIYADH — The Saudi Council of Ministers reaffirmed on Tuesday its unwavering support for continuing ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The Cabinet session, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman in Riyadh, firmly rejected any attempts to create parallel entities that undermine Somalia's unity, territorial integrity, or national sovereignty.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session, Minister of Media Salman Al-Dossary said the Cabinet reviewed recent high-level consultations and discussions between the Kingdom and various countries. These discussions focused on regional developments, ongoing efforts to anchor security and peace, and the Kingdom's commitment to multilateral initiatives that drive global stability and foster collective responses to shared challenges.

The Cabinet reaffirmed the centrality of the Palestinian cause, emphasizing the Kingdom's unwavering support for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. These efforts aimed to enable the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination and to establish an independent state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Al-Dossary said the Cabinet welcomed the outcomes of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's extraordinary meeting on Somalia, held in Jeddah, and reiterated its support for maintaining Somalia’s unity, integrity and sovereignty.

The Cabinet commended the successful conclusion of the Gulf Shield 2026 joint military exercise, hosted by the Kingdom.

Featuring the air and air defense forces of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the GCC Unified Military Command, the exercise underscored the commitment to enhancing regional defense cooperation and strengthening collective military readiness.

The Cabinet reviewed several high-profile economic events hosted by the Kingdom, specifically highlighting the Saudi-Japan Ministerial Investment Forum and the Saudi-Canadian Business and Investment Forum. These summits resulted in numerous memoranda of understanding across strategic sectors, including space, cybersecurity, ICT, manufacturing, education, finance, water, and agriculture.

The Cabinet approved to exempt certain franchisors and franchisees from one of the requirements stipulated in the Franchise Law, according to a number of criteria included in the decision.

The Council approved a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on political consultations between the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, and a draft MoU in agricultural fields between the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Poland.

The Cabinet approved two draft MoUs for cooperation between the Saudi government, represented by the Ministry of Municipalities and Housing, and the government of Kuwait, represented by the Public Authority for Housing Welfare, and another draft MoU for cooperation in civil service affairs and administrative development between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Council authorized the minister of health and chairman of the board of directors of the Public Health Authority or his deputy to discuss and sign a draft MoU for cooperation in infectious disease with the Communicable Disease Agency of Singapore. It endorsed a draft MoU for cooperation in statistics between the Saudi General Authority for Statistics and Oman’s National Centre for Statistics and Information.

The Cabinet approved Saudi Arabia's accession to the Makkah Convention of the Member States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation on Anti-Corruption Law Enforcement Cooperation and a draft MoU for cooperation in promoting integrity and transparency, as well as preventing and combating corruption, between the Saudi Oversight and Anti-Corruption Authority and Qatar’s Administrative Control and Transparency Authority.