March 19, 2003 The Liberation Of Iraq, Iraq War - Website by Q Madp

Tuesday April 22, 2003

Staff Writer

RIYADH, 22 April 2003 — Saudi Arabia and Egypt yesterday called upon the occupation forces to establish peace and stability throughout Iraq as early as possible and allow the Iraqi people to decide how to run their affairs.

In statement issued after a meeting between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the two countries also denounced the on-going Israeli military campaign against unarmed Palestinian civilians.

The talks, attended by Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, also focused on other major global issues and ways of strengthening bilateral ties.

President Mubarak and Prince Abdullah later held a separate meeting and discussed the situation in Iraq and Palestine and other regional developments, the Saudi Press Agency said. Prince Sultan also took part in the talks.

Mubarak, who is on a Gulf tour that also took him to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, was accompanied by a high-level delegation including Foreign Minister Ahmad Maher and Information Minister Safwat Sharief.

Meanwhile, the weekly Cabinet meeting here, which was chaired by Prince Abdullah, commended the resolutions adopted by eight Arab and Islamic countries — six neighbors of Iraq as well as Egypt and Bahrain.

“The participating countries have said that they will not accept any intervention in the internal affairs of Iraq and called for the establishment of a legitimate government according to the wishes of the Iraqi people,” the Cabinet said referring to the Riyadh meeting held last Friday.

Prince Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of the talks with Bahraini King Hamad, Sudan’s President Omar Al-Bashir, Jordan’s King Abdallah and UAE Chief of Staff Gen. Sheikh Mohammed ibn Zayed and diplomatic contacts with other countries last week.

Information Minister Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy said the Cabinet meeting authorized Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal to hold talks with his Guinean counterpart to reach an agreement on bilateral cooperation.

He disclosed the Kingdom’s plan to organize land transportation with Turkey, adding that the minister of communications has been assigned to hold talks with Turkish officials in this respect.

The Cabinet also approved the new animal resources law, which aims at protecting the Kingdom’s animal resources from contagious diseases and environmental pollution. The law will be effective 90 days after its publication in the official gazette, Al-Farsy said.