The Saudi cabinet hailed on Tuesday Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz for sponsoring the ceremony that saw the laying of the foundation stone of the Qiddiya project, reported the Saudi Press Agency. Meeting at the Salam Palace in Jeddah, the cabinet expressed its gratitude for the monarch for sponsoring the event, which took place over the weekend. The project, located near the capital Riyadh, will see the establishment of giant recreational city. It is expected to attract some 17 million tourists by 2030 and provide some 57,000 job opportunities for Saudis. King Salman, who chaired the cabinet meeting, then briefed the gatherers on his talks in Riyadh with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom. The ministers then discussed a number of regional and international developments. They addressed the Saudi delegation’s statement at the High-Level Meeting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace that took place at the United Nations headquarters in New York last week. Riyadh stressed that the main basis for building and sustaining peace is achieving justice. It reiterated its firm stance of resolving disputes through peaceful means. It added that the UN should play a more effective role in building peace and cementing its foundations. On Syria, the cabinet assessed last week’s Brussels donor meeting that pledged some $5 billion to the Syrian people affected by their country’s conflict. Saudi Arabia donated $100 million through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center. It stressed the Kingdom’s keenness on easing the suffering of the Syrian people, who are victims of horrific war crimes. It emphasized in this regard the need to reach a political solution to the conflict. Saudi Arabia has sought, since the beginning of the crisis, peaceful solutions to avert the current humanitarian tragedy the Syrians are enduring. The cabinet also condemned Monday’s twin suicide bombings in the Afghan capital Kabul that left 26 people dead, including ten journalists. It expressed its solidarity with Afghanistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism, offering its condolences to the people.