JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday renewed its support for the Syrian crisis, saying the only solution is through a political route, during a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by King Salman.

The Cabinet stressed its support for alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people who are subjected to horrific war crimes.The Kingdom has sought international efforts to find peaceful solutions since the beginning of the conflict to spare the Syrian people the human tragedy they are experiencing today.

At the beginning of the Cabinet meeting, King Salman briefed the Council on the outcomes of a telephone conversation held with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, and the results of his meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Director General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tidros Adhanom.

The Council was then briefed on a number of reports on regional and international developments and on the statement made by the Kingdom’s delegation at the High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace in the United Nations General Assembly. The delegation stressed that the basic pillars are building and maintaining peace and achieving justice. The statement also shed light on the Kingdom’s initiatives as part of its continuous efforts to resolve disputes peacefully, and to emphasized the necessity for the UN to play a more effective role in building and maintaining peace.

The Minister of Culture and Information, Dr. Awad Al-Awad, said that the Council of Ministers also discussed the outcomes of the Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region Conference in Brussels and announced the Kingdom’s donation of $100 million through the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action.

The Cabinet expressed the Kingdom’s strong condemnation of the twin suicide bombings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday, reiterating the Kingdom’s solidarity with Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism. The ministers also extended condolences to the families of the victims, the government and the people, wishing them a speedy recovery.

Dr. Al-Awad said that the Council of Ministers has agreed to establish diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Principality of Monaco at the level of a non-resident ambassador and to authorize the Minister of Foreign Affairs or his deputy to sign a protocol.

The government also approved the flour mill production system, the food security strategy and the implementation plan.

Finally, the Cabinet decided to approve the Independent Schools initiative by transferring 25 public schools to the private sector. The supervisory committee for the education sector will implement this initiative in accordance with the provisions of the supervisory committees’ work rules for the target sectors.