At its weekly meeting, the Council of Ministers directed the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs, and Housing, and the Ministry of Environment, Water, and Agriculture to take measures to protect wadi channels and reefs, prevent land ownership and construction within them, and remove encroachments on them and their tributaries. It also approved the formation of the “Central Committee for the Training and Scholarship Programs of Civil Service Employees” to train and provide scholarships for civil service employees.
Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid Al-Qasabi explained in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency that the Council of Ministers was satisfied with the preparations and arrangements made by the relevant authorities to serve pilgrims to the Two Holy Mosques, as applications for Umrah from various countries around the world begin to be accepted, and that the capacity has been increased to two million Umrah pilgrims per month, to provide the highest level of care and attention to the guests of the Most Merciful through an integrated system relying on modern technologies and advanced methods that ensure their safety and comfort and enable them to perform their rituals and acts of worship in a safe and healthy environment, amid the ongoing global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and its continuous mutations.
The Council reviewed the latest regional and global developments regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the most recent statistics and indicators related to the health situation in the Kingdom, in light of the declining infection curve and the decrease in critical cases, alongside the growing uptake of vaccines—which has exceeded 32 million doses—and the continued implementation of measures to safeguard public health, with the help of God Almighty.
The Council of Ministers reviewed the items on its agenda, including those jointly studied with the Shura Council, and reviewed the conclusions reached by the Council of Economic and Development Affairs, the Council of Political and Security Affairs, the General Committee of the Council of Ministers, and the Council of Ministers’ Committee of Experts regarding these matters.