RIYADH: The Council of Ministers is to sign accords with the Philippines and Poland to avoid cases of double taxation and crack down on tax evasion, Culture and Information Minister Abdul Aziz Khoja said.
Monday's Cabinet meeting, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also approved a memorandum of understanding with Brazil that enables political consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries.
Khoja said the Cabinet adopted a resolution urging owners of untouched land to connect it to the public sewage network when they decide to develop it. The Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs was also instructed to set out rules and regulations for identifying lands that are under small ownership within three months.
Earlier, King Abdullah briefed ministers on the outcome of his talks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders during the half-yearly consultative summit in Riyadh, as well as his meetings with former British premier and Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair and Luxembourg's crown prince Prince Guillaume. The Cabinet expressed its admiration for UNESCO after it hosted the King Abdullah Prize for Translation's prize distribution ceremony and said it reflected the award's global recognition. Khoja said the Cabinet also approved the memorandum of understanding that was signed with Tunisia for cooperation in Islamic affairs.
Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf has been assigned to sign the accords with Poland and the Philippines.
The Cabinet appointed Abdul Rahman Al-Ghaneim as social consultant at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Muhammad Al-Orayad as civil engineering consultant at the Ministry of Education and Abdullah Nahas as director of customs at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah.
© Arab News 2010
