RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman on Tuesday offered his thanks to all those involved in this year’s Hajj for their contributions to the success of the annual pilgrimage. It came as he chaired the latest meeting of the Council of Ministers, during which the Cabinet reviewed the outcome of the visit by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the Elysee Palace in Paris on June 16 and his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. Ministers heard that the president and crown prince had reviewed the historical and strategic relationship between their countries, and ways in which it might be developed in all fields to serve common interests, and commended a joint statement issued by the Kingdom and France on energy cooperation and the importance of implementing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. Cabinet members discussed the sixth joint ministerial meeting of strategic dialogue between the Gulf Cooperation Countries and Russia, which took place in Moscow on Monday, and the joint action plan covering the period from 2023 to 2028 that was adopted by the participants with the aim of bolstering cooperation. Ministers approved a number of memorandums of understanding, including one signed by the Kingdom’s National Center of Meteorology and the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization, with the aim of reducing risks and preventing disasters in the Arab world before they occur, and another by the Saudi Ministry of Justice and its counterpart in Chad. They also authorized the Ministry of Culture to discuss a draft MoU with the Ministry of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism in the Republic of Burkina Faso. Cabinet members reaffirmed the Kingdom’s support for ongoing precautionary measured taken by OPEC member nations to support stability and balance in international oil markets, including the announcement of an extension of voluntary production cuts of 1 million barrels a day in July and August, and the possibility of a further extension. They also approved plans to establish a Royal Institute of Traditional Arts, and approval in principle for a national center for marine information.