RIYADH: The Shoura Council resumes its ordinary sessions on Monday after the Eid Al-Adha holiday.
The council will vote during its 49th ordinary session on the request of the Saudi Ports Authority to turn the consultative councils of the ports into boards of directors at each port, fully entitled to the management.
The council will also vote on the authority’s future reports to include information about its efforts to decrease negative effects on the coastal marine environment, after listening to the report by the Transport, Communication and Information Technology Commission (CITC) regarding the Saudi Ports Authority’s 2015-2016 annual report.
The Shoura will vote on the request of the Agriculture Development Fund to finance the development of the agricultural sector in the Kingdom and establish a developed performance strategy that ensures an increase in the collection rate and investments to maintain the fund’s capital. Before voting, the council will listen to the Environment, Water and Agriculture Commission’s annual report for the 2015-2016 financial year.
The assembly will listen to the Committee of Islamic and Judicial Affairs remarks on the annual report of the General Presidency of Scholarly Research and Iftaa’ for the 2015-2016 financial year.
The council requested that the Real Estate Development Fund (REDF) expedite the resolution to develop the fund’s system to become a financial institution capable of providing financial aid and innovative solutions.
The 50th ordinary session will be held on Tuesday with a full agenda including voting on the recommendations for the Human Rights Commission to put forth clear norms and standards to establish human rights civil organizations, in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Labor and Social Development, and to designate a Saudi staff of experts in the human rights field.
The 51th ordinary session will be held on Wednesday. During this session, the Energy and Economy Committee will request that the council provide territory that the King Abdullah Economic City needs to develop energy facilities at the appropriate geographic sites.
Saudi Shoura Council to resume ordinary sessions on Monday
Saudi Shoura Council to resume ordinary sessions on Monday
Saudi Arabia welcomes ceasefire agreement between Syrian Democratic Forces and Syria state
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has welcomed an agreement between the Syrian state and Syrian Democratic Forces.
In a foreign ministry statement early on Monday, the Kingdom said it had welcomed an deal between Damascus and Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces that was announced by the Syrian government on Sunday.
The agreement entails merging all SDF forces into the defense and interior ministries and means that Kurdish forces will redeploy to east of the Euphrates river.
The 14-point deal would also see the immediate administrative and military handover of Deir Ezzor and Raqqa governorates.
The Syrian state would regain control of all border crossings, oil fields, and gas fields in the region, with protection secured by regular forces to ensure the return of resources to the Syrian government, while considering the special case of Kurdish areas, the state news agency SANA reported.
The ceasefire comes after intense fighting between the SDF and government troops in Aleppo. But SDF troops have now pulled back from there and the Syrian army now controls most areas east of Aleppo.
The Saudi foreign ministry statement also thanked the US for the agreement. Washington is believed to have supported brokering the ceasefire between allies SDF and the Syrian government, who they have also backed diplomatically since the fall of long-time dictator Bashar Assad.
The Syrian state announced on Friday a raft of new directives to recognize Syrian Kurds, including making their language official and bolstering other rights for the minority group.
