Long-term and short-term educational visas were created by the Council of Ministers.

King Salman, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, chaired Tuesday's weekly session of the Council of Ministers to make this decision.

For academic study and research visits, students, researchers, and experts will be granted the new long-term visa.

For the purposes of language study, training, short programs, and student exchanges, the short-term visa will be granted to students, researchers, and visiting trainees.

According to the council's decision, educational visa holders are not required to provide sponsors.

During the session, the Cabinet was briefed on the contents of recent talks and consultations between Saudi Arabia and a number of fraternal and friendly countries' leaders and representatives regarding current developments on the international stage.

The Cabinet reiterated the Kingdom's support for efforts to find a political solution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and to continue to contribute at the humanitarian level to alleviate its effects.

As part of his efforts to adopt humanitarian initiatives, the Cabinet thanked the governments of Russia and Ukraine for their cooperation and response.

Additionally, the Cabinet discussed the results of the Kingdom's participation in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly and the bilateral and multilateral meetings held on the sidelines of the meeting.

The Kingdom highlighted its emphasis on continuing to support joint action and strengthening international cooperation to meet the challenges the world faces, and establishing a world of peace and justice, as well as a promising future for the people and future generations.

After the meeting, Acting Minister of Media Dr. Majid Bin Abdullah Al-Qasabi told the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the Cabinet reviewed the situation and the course of events in the region, stressing the contents of the International Quartet's statement.

Moreover, the Quartet condemned the reinforcements and attacks of Houthi militias inside Yemen, which threatened to disrupt the truce, as well as affirming full support for the efforts of the UN Special Envoy to extend and expand the truce.

The Cabinet highlighted the Kingdom's confirmation — during the general debate of the 51st session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva — on the importance of promoting a culture of dialogue, cooperation, tolerance and respect for noble values and other cultures, taking into account their diversity as a key to achieving prosperity and sustainable development for all peoples of the world.

Specifically, the Cabinet commended the State's attention to the programs and strategies based on the Kingdom's Vision, particularly in relation to the housing needs of citizens and the quality of services they receive, as well as continuing efforts to facilitate and increase home ownership rates by 2030 to reach the 70% target.

Besides enhancing the urban landscape and developing infrastructure, the Cabinet praised the need to optimize and sustainably utilize natural and water resources.

According to World Tourism Organization reports, the Kingdom topped the G20 countries in international tourist arrivals during the first seven months of 2022, with a 121% increase over the same period in 2019.

Cabinet views this as continuing the quality leaps in the tourism sector, which provides jobs for the Kingdom's citizens and represents a cultural bridge to the rest of the world.

Cabinet members were briefed on the topics on their agenda, as well as the conclusions reached by the Council for Economic and Development Affairs, the Council for Political and Security Affairs, and the Cabinet's General Committee.

The Cabinet authorized the minister of culture, who is also the chairman of the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science, to discuss and co-sign a draft memorandum of understanding for cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia and ALECSO in the cultural field.

A draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment and the Chinese Ministry of Commerce on cooperation in direct investment promotion has been authorized by the Cabinet to be discussed and signed by the minister of investments.

A draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Arabian government and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China regarding cooperation in the promotion of direct investment has been authorized by the Cabinet for discussion and signature with Hong Kong's side.

An agreement between the Saudi government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the establishment of a regional office for the IMF in the Kingdom, as well as support for capacity development, was authorized by the Cabinet to discuss and co-sign a draft memorandum of understanding.

Minister of health was authorized to discuss and co-sign a draft memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia and the Ministry of Health of Morocco on health cooperation.

A system of security surveillance cameras and an amendment to the organization of the General Authority for Statistics were approved by the Cabinet.