Damascus, (SANA) – Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otri chaired on Tuesday a Cabinet meeting, during which Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem gave a political presentation on regional developments and events.

The Foreign Minister discussed the recent Arab meetings, underlining the importance of the efforts made by Syria under the leadership of President al-Assad for clearing the atmospheres and achieving Arab reconciliation in support of Arab common work and Arab solidarity in the face of political and economic challenges.

The Cabinet discussed a number of bills and issues, including a memo from the Ministry of Higher Education on the development of medium-level institutes and a memo from the Ministry of Education containing suggestions for establishing a commission for vocational and technical education and training.

After deliberations, the Cabinet decided to amend Law Number 59 for 2001 on the establishment of the Higher Council for Medium-Level Institutes and empowered the Ministry of Education the State Planning Commission to lay down a bill on setting up a commission for vocational and technical education and training.

The Cabinet also approved a bill on authenticating the memo of agreement in the field of social security between Syria and Yemen, in addition to discussing a memo from the Ministry of Electricity on the expected demand for energy in 2009 and upcoming years, with the Ministers approving the suggestions included in the memo for allowing the private sector and investment companies to participate in the electric energy sector.

The Ministers also approved the suggestion by the Ministry of Electricity to begin work with the daylight saving time on Friday March 27th, with clocks set ahead 60 minutes on the night of Thursday March 26th.

H. Sabbagh / A. N. Idelbi