Saudi Cabinet calls for revival of Israel-Palestinian peace talks

The Saudi Council of Ministers hold a meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 31, 2023. (SPA)
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Updated 01 February 2023

Saudi Cabinet calls for revival of Israel-Palestinian peace talks

  • Ministers calls on the international community to step up and play its part in the process
  • They also discuss the preparations for the Kingdom’s participation at this year’s G20 meetings

RIYADH: The Saudi Cabinet on Tuesday reiterated the need to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, and called on the international community to live up to its responsibilities in relation to this and to help end the occupation, stop Israeli attacks, and ensure civilians are protected.

It came during the weekly meeting of the Council of Ministers at Irqah Palace in Riyadh, presided over by King Salman, during which members discussed the latest regional and international developments, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

At the start of the session, the Cabinet was briefed on a message sent to the king by the Algerian president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and a telephone call Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman received from the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

Ministers then discussed the preparations for the Kingdom’s participation at this year’s G20 meetings, in light of its desire to develop initiatives and solutions that can help address the challenges facing the global economy.

These include a joint framework initiative for debt treatment, and Saudi Arabia’s role in the implementation of the Financial Intermediary Fund for Health Security, including financial support of $50 million, to help prevent pandemics.

They also include the Kingdom’s work in cooperation with the Indonesian presidency of the G20 last year to develop a response to the global food-security crisis, and the implementation of those initiatives in partnership with India, which holds the presidency of the G20 this year.

Acting Minister of Media Majid Al-Qasabi said the Cabinet also reiterated the Kingdom’s condemnation of the burning of copies of the Qur’an in a number of European capitals.

Ministers welcomed the signing of agreements and memorandums of understanding during the Riyadh Global Medical Biotechnology Summit last week, he added, as well as discussions during the event that focused on developments in the sector, investment opportunities, and ways to consolidate and enhance the Kingdom’s leading position in this field, in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030 to diversify the national economy through research and the development of scientific knowledge.

The Cabinet also noted the outcomes of the Municipal Investment Forum in Riyadh last week, during which investment portals were launched for Saudi cities, and 125 contracts and agreements worth more than SR12 billion ($3.1 billion) were signed, offering more than 5,000 investment opportunities for the private sector. During the event, about 200 projects for entrepreneurs were reviewed, and the largest investment opportunity of its kind in the outdoor advertising sector was launched.

Ministers approved a cooperation agreement between the Saudi and Uzbekistan ministries of energy, and another one between the Saudi Ministry of Education and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education.

They authorized the minister of culture to sign a draft memorandum of understanding for cultural cooperation with the Ministry of Crafts, Culture, Hotel Industry and Tourism in Mali, and approved a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi and Senegalese governments for cooperation to encourage direct investment.

The Cabinet also approved a MoU on desalination cooperation between the Saudi Saline Water Conversion Corporation and the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and authorized the minister of health to sign a draft MoU for cooperation with the Tunisian Ministry of Health.

The minister of media, and chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority for Audiovisual Media, was authorized to sign a draft MoU with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India, and the president of the Islamic University of Madinah to sign a draft MoU with the Islamic Development Bank Group.


Winners of 24th King Salman Award for Holy Qur’an to be honored in Riyadh

Updated 34 sec ago

Winners of 24th King Salman Award for Holy Qur’an to be honored in Riyadh

  • More than 3,000 compete in 6 divisions, with 105 contestants making it to the finals

RIYADH: Prince Faisal bin Bandar, governor of Riyadh, will attend the 24th King Salman Award for the Holy Qur’an memorization, recitation and interpretation for boys, which will be held on Thursday. 

The ceremony, organized and supervised by the Saudi Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance, will be held at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh in the presence of the Saudi Islamic Minister Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh, along with scholars, senior officials, and ambassadors and directors of charities for memorization of the Qur’an in the Kingdom.

More than 3,000 contestants took part in the preliminaries, 105 of whom made it to the finals. The contestants in the preliminaries participated in six divisions of the competition. The first division is memorizing the Qur’an entirely with good performance and intonation with seven frequent readings. 

The second is memorizing the Qur’an entirely with good performance, intonation, and interpretation of the vocabulary of the Qur’an, and the third division is memorizing the entire Qur’an with good performance and intonation. 

The fourth division of the competition involves memorizing 20 consecutive parts of the Qur’an with good performance; the fifth division involves memorizing 10 consecutive parts of the Qur’an with good performance and intonation; and the last division of the competition involves memorizing five consecutive parts of the Qur’an with good performance and intonation.

The King Salman award for memorization of the Qur’an for girls will be held on Friday evening in the presence of King Salman’s wife, Princess Fahda bint Falah Al-Hathleen, at the Ritz-Carlton in Riyadh.

Prizes worth SR3 million ($800,000) will be distributed among the winners in the six divisions of the competition.

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King Salman sends best wishes for Ramadan to Saudi citizens and all Muslims

Updated 22 March 2023

King Salman sends best wishes for Ramadan to Saudi citizens and all Muslims

  • It came as he chaired the weekly Cabinet meeting, during which ministers reviewed the outcome of recent meetings and approved a number of international agreements

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Tuesday sent his best wishes for Ramadan to citizens of the Kingdom and Muslims everywhere, expressing his hope that the holy month will bring hope and peace to Muslims and the entire world.

He instructed authorities involved in providing services for visitors to the Two Holy Mosques to continue to work with the highest levels of efficiency and excellence to ensure that pilgrims can perform their rituals with ease and tranquility, the Saudi press Agency reported.

The king was speaking as he chaired the weekly Cabinet session at Irqah Palace in Riyadh, after the Supreme Court announced that Ramadan would begin on Thursday.

Minister of Media Salman Al-Dosari said ministers reviewed a number of issues that were discussed during meetings involving senior Saudi officials in the past week that aimed to develop relations and cement the regional and international status and role of the Kingdom.

Ministers reviewed Saudi Arabia’s participation during the 49th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, during which its representatives affirmed the Kingdom’s continued support for joint action, particularly in the humanitarian and development fields, and its unwavering stance in support of peaceful coexistence and mutual respect worldwide.

The Cabinet noted the Kingdom’s pledge, during an International Donors’ Conference in Brussels on Monday, to support the victims of the earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria, help mitigate the effects of the disaster, and assist the recovery process.

Ministers affirmed that such efforts reflect the Kingdom’s constant commitment to showing solidarity with communities in need around the world and helping to address their needs.

The Council of Ministers said that recent positive evaluations by credit-rating agencies of the Kingdom’s economy reflected the effectiveness of the reforms implemented by the state, including the development of public-finance management, improvements to the quality of financial planning, and the more efficient use of resources under the financial sustainability program.

Al-Dosari said that the fact the Kingdom climbed 15 places on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index 2022 is a reflection of the continued interest in and support for upgrading the quality of the research, development and innovation sector, which is helping to enhance the Kingdom’s global competitiveness and leadership in line with the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.

The Cabinet approved a memorandum of understanding for cultural cooperation between the Saudi and Mexican cultural ministries, and another relating to the digital economy between the Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and its Chinese counterpart.

It also authorized the minister of Islamic affairs, dawah and guidance to sign a draft memorandum of understanding in the field of Islamic affairs with the Somali Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

Ministers approved two agreements with South Africa, one for cooperation in a feasibility study for establishing a joint fund to encourage direct investment, and another for cooperation in the field of maritime transport.

They authorized the minister of transport and logistics and the chairman of the board of directors of the General Authority of Civil Aviation to sign a draft agreement for air services with the Polish government.

The Cabinet also authorized the chairman of the Education and Training Evaluation Commission to sign a draft cooperation agreement for the evaluation and accreditation of Arab language curricula and programs with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization.

Ministers approved an agreement between the Saudi Public Prosecution Office and its Tajik counterpart for combating terrorism and its financing, money laundering, and other related offenses.

They also added the Human Rights Commission to the membership of the secondment and employment committee of regional and international organizations and bodies, and approved amendments to a bylaw for protecting personal data.

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Thursday to be first day of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia — Supreme Court

Updated 21 March 2023

Thursday to be first day of Ramadan in Saudi Arabia — Supreme Court

  • Muslims across the world fast from sunrise till sunset during the holy month of Ramadan
  • This is followed by the sighting of the new moon and is marked by Eid Al-Fitr celebration

RIYADH: The crescent moon was not sighted on Tuesday evening in Saudi Arabia and Thursday, March 23, will be the start of the holy month of Ramadan, the Kingdom’s Supreme Court has said. 

The court called on all Muslims in the Kingdom to look for the Ramadan crescent on Tuesday evening that corresponds to Shaban 29, 1444.

The Ministry of Justice announced it has launched an electronic system for crescent sighting “with the aim of automating and governing the moon sighting processes, and unifying work procedures between the courts of first instance and the Supreme Court.” 

The service aims to unify the data source of the observatory through a robust electronic system that provides speed and integration with the relevant authorities, raising the quality of the observatory operations, and speeding up the issuance of the Supreme Court’s decision regarding new moon sightings.

More than 1.9 billion Muslims around the world will mark the holy month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking and smoking from dawn until sunset.


These Saudi restaurants offer a taste of Persia on a plate

Updated 21 March 2023

These Saudi restaurants offer a taste of Persia on a plate

  • Restaurants in the Kingdom offer flavor-packed Persian dishes, including the national dish of Iran
  • Launched in 1999, the Persian restaurant Alshaya has expanded to nine locations around the Kingdom

RIYADH: Persian cuisine is popular around the world for its healthy, hearty and luxurious dishes.

The aromatic and flavorful cuisine includes perfectly cooked fluffy rice, grilled or stewed meat such as chicken, lamb, goat or fish, and vegetables that are enhanced by a variety of nuts, fruits, herbs and rich spices like cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, cloves, sultanas, berries and dried rose petals, among others.

Bordered by Iraq, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman and Turkemenistan, Iran comprises diverse ethnicities, with neighboring countries having a huge influence on its food.

Popular Persian dishes include ghormeh sabzi, chelo kabab, dizi, kabab koobideh, khoresht gheymeh, zereshk polo, tahdig, faloodeh and tulumba, among others.

The undated photo shows chelo kabab, a popular dish by Isfahani, a Persian restaurant in Saudi Arabia. (Photo courtesy: Isfahani)

Renowned Saudi food blogger Hisham Baeshen is known for his cooking videos on Instagram. With about 4 million followers, Baeshen makes dishes from around the world, including Saudi Arabia.

Baeshen said that he has cooked Persian food, with his favorite being the national dish of Iran — ghormeh sabzi, a stew prepared with meat and kidney beans with a side dish of zereshk polo, a mixture of white and saffron flavored basmati rice topped with barberries.

“I consider sabzi as the king of Persian foods. With a side order of zereshk rice, which I consider one of the staple dishes in Persian food,” Baeshen told Arab News.

Drawing similarities between Saudi and Persian cuisine, the blogger said: “I would absolutely recommend Saudis cook Persian food at home, because all the materials that you need for the Persian kitchen are available in the Saudi kitchen and the techniques used in cooking Persian food are not very different than the Saudi cuisine.

“Many people have tried Persian recipes and loved them. Honestly — very beautiful and delicious.”

Here are some restaurants in the Kingdom offering a taste of Persia on a plate.

Founded in 1990 in Bahrain, Isfahani has expanded its presence to eight locations across Bahrain and in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, with branches in Dhahran and Alkhobar.

Ahmed Alqaseer, vice president of Isfahani group, said that Isfahani started when his uncle, Elias, gave his father, Jalil Alqaseer, the business.

Ahmed’s father took it upon himself to learn more about Persian culture from top Persian chefs by visiting Iran and Lebanon.

“The most important thing for us is to explore and share is the quality of the food. We keep on tracking, developing and adding more dishes,” Ahmed said.

With many great options to choose from, chelo kabab remains by far the the most popular choice among diners.

“Chelo kabab is the dish that gets the most recommendations and gets sold out the quickest in Isfahani locations and food delivery applications like Talabat,” Alqaseer said.

Isfahani’s target for 2023 is to expand to new locations and focus on its design, ambience and food.

“I want the customers to have a great restaurant experience and taste, as if they are in another world. We keep on developing the food and getting new recipes all while maintaining the quality of the food. The new restaurant will have customers will feel like they are in a very modern Persian restaurant,” Alqaseer added.

Mohammed Abduljabar is the owner of Zahra Zad, one of the only Persian restaurants in Al-Qatif.

The undated photo shows Saffron tea served at Zahra Zad, a Persian restaurant in Al-Qatif, Saudi Arabia. (Photo courtesy: Zahra Zad) 

“We decided to open a Persian restaurant because we saw that there weren’t any in the city of Qatif. The people of the city love Persian food and we wanted to give them something to indulge in,” said Abduljabar.

The soft opening of the restaurant, which is adorned with paintings highlighting Persian culture, architectural style and clothing, took place in February this year.

“We try to capture the true essence and atmosphere of a traditional Persian restaurant through these paintings and decorations. We have all sorts of paintings that symbolize Persian society and dress. Additionally, we added Persian music to add to the ambience.

“I think before starting any project, it is very important for us to study the culture thoroughly so that project truly succeeds,” Abduljabar said.

He added that the most popular dishes are mixed Persian grills — a mixture of beef and chicken kabab — and kashk bademjan, a Persian eggplant dip.

To satisfy one’s sweet tooth, Zahra Zad offers saffron cake and bastani sonati, a rich pistachio ice cream with saffron and rose water.

Taking accessibility and inclusivity into consideration, Abduljabar has kept its ground floor exclusive to people who are unable to climb stairs.

To make the restaurant attractive for customers of all ages, Zahra Zad also contains a shisha cafe.

Alshaya is another Persian restaurant with branches in Riyadh and the Eastern Province. Started in 1999, Alshaya has expanded to nine locations around the Kingdom. The restaurant offers traditional Persian dishes such as kabab, sultani steak and morgh chicken kabab, among others.
 


Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court calls on Muslims to look for Ramadan crescent on Tuesday evening

Updated 21 March 2023

Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court calls on Muslims to look for Ramadan crescent on Tuesday evening

  • Ramadan 2023 will begin either on Wednesday or Thursday this week depending on the sighting of the crescent
  • Saudi court says anyone who sights Ramadan crescent with their eyes, through binoculars should notify nearest court

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court has called on all Muslims in the Kingdom to look for the Ramadan crescent on Tuesday evening, Saudi Press Agency has reported.

Tuesday corresponds to Shaban 29, 1444 and if the Ramadan crescent is spotted on Tuesday evening, then Ramadan will begin on Wednesday. If not, the holy month will start on Thursday.

The court said anyone who sights the Ramadan crescent with their eyes or through binoculars should notify the nearest court to their location and record their testimony there, or contact the nearest center so that they can be directed to the nearest court.

 

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