The Council of Ministers held its weekly session, chaired by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, at the Jeddah Palace on Monday afternoon. The Council addressed the incident of the crane collapse in the Grand Mosque on Friday evening, which resulted in the deaths of 111 people. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques stated, “We pray to God for a good end for these pilgrims and visitors who passed away in this holy place while heading to the Almighty, intending to visit His Sacred House to perform the rituals of Hajj. We ask God for forgiveness and mercy for them, and we thank all our brothers, Their Majesties, Excellencies, and Highnesses, the leaders of brotherly countries, and everyone who expressed their condolences and sympathy for this great tragedy. We offer them and all the families and relatives of the deceased our sincere condolences and sympathy, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery. We also emphasize our directives to all relevant sectors to care for the injured and help them perform the rituals of Hajj with their Muslim brothers.”
The Council then reviewed the plans and preparations made by the government and private sectors concerned with serving the guests of God who have come to the Kingdom from all corners of the earth. The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques directed everyone to double their efforts to provide the best services and comprehensive care to ensure the comfort of the guests of God as they perform the rituals of Hajj with ease and convenience, and to harness all resources to ensure their safety in the Two Holy Mosques, in Mecca and Medina, and in all the holy sites and on all roads leading to them, from their arrival until their safe return, God willing. He said, “It is one of the blessings of God upon this country that it has been honored to serve the guests of God, the pilgrims, Umrah performers, and visitors, and to serve the Two Holy Mosques. This is a duty and an honor that we cherish and for which we thank God since the unification of the Kingdom by its founder, King Abdulaziz bin Abdulrahman Al Saud, may God have mercy on him. We will, with God’s will and power, continue to fulfill this mission and exert all efforts to provide the best services to the guests of God, hoping for reward and grace from God Almighty.”
The Council also discussed the false and misleading accusations that have been made regarding the Kingdom’s efforts concerning Syrian refugees, reiterating that the Kingdom will always be at the forefront of countries supporting the brotherly Syrian people and understanding their humanitarian suffering, and will not accept any attempts to undermine its efforts or question its positions in this regard. He emphasized the measures that the Kingdom has taken since the beginning of the Syrian crisis to help the Syrian people, noting that it has received nearly two and a half million Syrian citizens in the Kingdom since the outbreak of the crisis and has supported and cared for millions of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries.