إقرار فصلين دراسيين لمدارس التعليم العام للعام الدراسي القادم

The Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, chaired the session held by the Council of Ministers today in Neom.

At the beginning of the session, the Crown Prince briefed the Council of Ministers on the content of the two messages received by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and the Crown Prince, from the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, as well as the details of his reception of the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Ahmad Al-Sabah.

The Council of Ministers appreciated the positive outcomes of the high-level international conference on the peaceful settlement of the Palestinian issue and the implementation of the two-state solution, which was chaired by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the French Republic, and the successive historical announcements by several countries expressing their intention to recognize the State of Palestine; embodying international legitimacy and supporting peace.

In this context, the Council renewed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's call to all member states of the United Nations to support the final document issued by the conference, which constitutes a comprehensive and actionable framework for implementing the two-state solution, achieving international security and peace, and contributing to building the future of the region and its peoples.

On the local front, the Council of Ministers approved in its session today the establishment of two academic semesters for public education schools for the upcoming academic year (1447 / 1448 AH), and the Council also adopted the numbering used in the national address for numbering properties according to the rules for naming streets and squares and numbering properties in the cities and villages of the Kingdom.

The economy is robust and capable of facing global challenges

The Minister of Media, Salman Al-Dosari, stated in his statement to the Saudi Press Agency following the session that the Council followed the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its comprehensive support for the State of Palestine and its brotherly people, especially on the humanitarian level, by continuing to send shelter, medical, and food aid to the Gaza Strip as part of the Saudi air and sea bridge.

The Council condemned, in the strongest terms, the repeated provocative practices by officials of the Israeli occupation government against the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque, emphasizing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's demand for the international community to stop these practices that violate international laws and norms.

The Council of Ministers reviewed the most prominent economic indicators and statistics for the Kingdom, including the recorded growth of the Gross Domestic Product during the second quarter of 2025 by 3.9%, driven by the positive performance of all economic activities, especially non-oil ones.

The Council welcomed the report "Article IV Consultations for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" issued by the International Monetary Fund for the year 2025, which confirmed the robustness of the local economy and its ability to face global economic challenges, in addition to the continued expansion of non-oil activities and the containment of inflation.

Jeddah and Medina are the largest million-population health cities in the Middle East

The Council considered the launch of new industrial projects in the Eastern Province as part of the comprehensive developmental movement witnessed by the Kingdom under its vision aimed at developing local content, enhancing the competitiveness of the national industry, and providing an attractive investment environment that empowers innovators and entrepreneurs.

The Council noted that it praised the achievements of the Healthy Cities Program, including the World Health Organization's recognition of Jeddah and Medina as the largest million-population health cities in the Middle East; raising the number of healthy cities in the Kingdom to 16, which embodies the ongoing commitment to enhancing preventive health, quality of life, and integration among relevant entities.

The Council highlighted the contribution of the Quality of Life Program, one of the programs of (Vision 2030), in achieving a number of targets that support the development of infrastructure, enhance the quality of services, and develop cultural, recreational, and sports sectors.

The Council commended the achievements and projects in the fields of environmental protection and sustainability, which included rehabilitating more than 500,000 hectares of degraded land in the Kingdom and planting over 151 million trees as part of the "Saudi Green Initiative," which aims to enhance vegetation cover and combat desertification.

Decisions:

The Council of Ministers reviewed the topics listed on its agenda, including topics that the Shura Council participated in studying, and also reviewed the conclusions reached by both the Councils of Political and Security Affairs and Economic and Development Affairs, the General Committee of the Council of Ministers, and the Experts Committee of the Council of Ministers regarding them. The Council concluded with the following:

- Authorizing the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources - or his representative - to negotiate with the Mongolian side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry of the Republic of Mongolia for cooperation in the field of mineral resources, and to sign it.

- Approving a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in health and medical sciences between the Ministry of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China.

- Authorizing the Minister of Finance, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority - or his representative - to sign a draft memorandum of understanding between the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Customs Department of New Zealand regarding cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in customs matters.

- Authorizing the Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Export Development Authority - or his representative - to negotiate with the Omani side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Sultanate of Oman in the field of developing non-oil exports, and to sign it.

- Approving a memorandum of understanding between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (represented by the General Authority for Competition) and the Government of the State of Kuwait (represented by the Competition Protection Authority) in the field of competition protection.

- Approving a memorandum of understanding between the General Court of Audit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Office of the Auditor General in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for cooperation in the field of accounting, auditing, and professional work.

- Approving a memorandum of understanding in the field of technical and vocational training between the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Statistical, Economic, Social Research and Training Center for Islamic Countries (SESRIC).

- Approving a memorandum of cooperation between the King Abdulaziz Foundation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Siam Society in the Kingdom of Thailand.

- Approving the Gulf Strategy for Combating Drugs (2028-2025), which was adopted at the (41st) meeting of the Interior Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

- Approving the establishment of two academic semesters for public education schools for the upcoming academic year (1447 / 1448 AH).

- Adopting the numbering used in the national address for numbering properties according to the rules for naming streets and squares and numbering properties in the cities and villages of the Kingdom.

- Amending the organization of the National Center for Meteorology, as stated in the decision.

Renewal of membership, appointment, and promotion:

- Renewing the membership of Dr. Walid bin Suleiman Abanami, Engineer Bandar bin Abdulrahman Al-Zamil, and Sarah bint Issam Al-Muhidib; in the Board of Directors of the Alimony Fund from the private sector.

- Approving the appointment of Mohammed bin Salem bin Mohammed Al-Bulayd on the position of (Deputy Emir of the Region) at the rank of (14th) in the Emirate of Makkah Region, and promoting Saleh bin Abdul Mohsen bin Hamoud Al-Khalaf to the position of (Office Manager) at the rank of (14th) in the Ministry of Education.

The Council of Ministers also took the necessary actions regarding several topics listed on its agenda.