RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Tuesday reinforced its determination to confront extremism and hate speech in the wake of Friday’s terrorist attack on two mosques in New Zealand, which left 50 people dead. During its weekly meeting, chaired by King Salman, the Saudi Cabinet called on the international community to take a tough stance against those who tried to spread hate, extremism and violence.  The Council of Ministers expressed its deepest condolences to the families of those killed in the Christchurch attack and also the people and government of New Zealand.  The meeting, held at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, went on to discuss the Kingdom’s participation in the third Brussels Conference to support the future of Syria and the region, reported the SPA. The Cabinet also reviewed the talks that took place to discuss areas of Saudi-EU cooperation over the security, stability and unity of Syria. Ministers referred to Saudi Arabia’s attendance at the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, and stressed the Kingdoms’ determination to continue its efforts in protecting and promoting human rights. In other business, the Cabinet commended US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for pledging continued American backing for the Saudi-led coalition to support the legitimate government of Yemen and for the Kingdom’s efforts to assist the Yemenis against Iranian intervention. The Council of Ministers then authorized the Minister of Culture Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Farhan to draft a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with his Russian counterpart for cooperation between the two countries on cultural matters and approved the go ahead for discussions and the signing of a similar MoU with UNESCO. Approval for an MoU on bilateral cooperation in the field of intellectual property between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and the US Patent and Trademark Office was agreed along with an MoU for cooperation and exchange of news between the Saudi Press Agency and the Cuban state news agency Prensa Latina.