Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired today's Cabinet session in Jeddah, opening it by thanking His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for their efforts in convening the Makkah Al-Mukarramah Summit for Joint Defence.

The King said the summit reaffirmed the long historical ties between the three countries and their commitment to brotherhood, Islamic solidarity and shared strategic interests. He praised its outcome in setting a framework for a long-term defence partnership between Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan that will deepen cooperation and coordination, help address regional challenges and preserve international security and stability, serving the hopes of the region's peoples for a more prosperous future.

Ministers were briefed on a message to the King from Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa and on the Crown Prince's phone calls with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Minister of Education and Acting Minister of Media Yousef Al-Benyan told the Saudi Press Agency that the Cabinet reviewed regional and international developments and the Kingdom's contacts with brotherly and friendly countries to support de-escalation, advance diplomatic solutions and back initiatives that respect state sovereignty and territorial integrity and secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, which it described as a pillar of global economic stability.

The Cabinet welcomed the UN Security Council statement condemning the attacks and criminal acts of the terrorist Houthi militia that threaten regional security and freedom of navigation. It reaffirmed the Kingdom's right to defend its security and resources and its firm support for the legitimate Yemeni government and UN-led efforts for peace in Yemen.

It praised the steps taken at the Amman ministerial meeting in support of Jerusalem and its holy sites, rejected any attempt to change the city's legal and historical status or its identity, and urged the international community to stop the violations of the Israeli occupation in Gaza and the West Bank, protect the holy sites and support the Palestinian people.

Ministers said Riyadh's hosting of the fourth UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI in September shows the Kingdom's commitment to global dialogue on responsible AI, and described the successful hosting of the International Nuclear Science Olympiad, and Saudi students' leading results there, as proof of its leadership in scientific events and talent development under Vision 2030.

Among its decisions, the Cabinet ratified the UN Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts; authorised the health minister to negotiate and sign a health cooperation MoU with Mozambique's Ministry of Health; and authorised the president of the General Court of Audit to do the same for an accounting and auditing MoU with Uzbekistan's Accounts Chamber. It also approved MoUs on logistics with Morocco's Ministry of Transport and Logistics, on peaceful uses of outer space between the Saudi Space Agency and Japan's Cabinet Office, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and on Halal affairs between the Saudi Food and Drug Authority and the Central Islamic Council of Thailand.