Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said the Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, looked into strategic choices to deal with global pressures that increase commodity prices.

"The Cabinet approved short- and long-term measures within the framework of an integrated strategy to protect the market from price fluctuations and preserve living standards in the Kingdom," the Saudi Press Agency quoted Madani as saying.

Diversification of sources to ensure adequate supply of commodities was another major step approved by the Cabinet. It urged the ministers to follow up distribution of goods to stop unfair practices.

The new measures came after inflation in the Kingdom hit a new record of 9.6 percent. Saudi Arabia has already cut customs tariffs on food such as frozen poultry, dairy products and vegetable oils from 20 to five percent.

Levies on building materials such as paints, gypsum, electrical cables and plastic pipes were reduced to five percent while duties on wheat products were eliminated entirely. The government introduced subsidies, cost of living allowances and welfare payments to help citizens cope with unprecedented price hikes.

SABB chief economist Dr. John Safakianakis welcomed the measures to curb inflation. "We would have to see the exact measures to form an opinion but the government is right to address living standards as income encroachment becomes more acute in an inflationary environment and income preservation is not a lofty goal but a necessity," he told Arab News.

The Cabinet meeting approved a new law for combating trade fraud. The law prevents the use of substandard bottles, containers, covers and stickers as well as holding commercial contests and discount sales without prior permission from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The Cabinet reviewed the ongoing efforts to fight dengue fever in Jeddah including sewage projects, aerial spray of pesticides and health awareness campaigns. Efforts are also under way to clean Arbaeen Lagoon, Sharm Obhur and Northern and Southern Corniche.

King Abdullah briefed the ministers on the outcome of his talks with Bahraini Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa ibn Salman Al-Khalifa and Eritrean President Isaias Afworki in Riyadh. The Cabinet backed the king's call to promote dialogue among Saudis and different faiths and cultures, which he made while receiving participants of the national dialogue forum in Buraidah. The meeting condemned the assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

Madani said the Cabinet decided to appoint cultural attachés in China, Malaysia, India, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and New Zealand and reopen the cultural offices in Syria, Morocco, Qatar, Oman, Turkey, Austria, Yemen, Sudan, Tunisia, Lebanon, Italy and Algeria.

"There will not be any change in the organizational set up of cultural offices in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, Pakistan, Egypt, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain," he said.

The Cabinet reshuffled the board of directors of the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI).

By P.K. Abdul Ghafour & Khalil Hanware

© Arab News 2008

 

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