RIYADH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman received on Sunday the awards that were given to the Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) at the recent Global Water Summit in Greece.
Abdullah Al-Hussayen, water and electricity minister, who took the awards to the king, was accompanied by Electricity & Co-Generation Regulatory Authority (ECRA) Gov. Abdullah Al-Shehri, SWCC Gov. Abdul Rahman Al-Ibrahim and other senior officials of the ministry and organizations related to water and electricity.
International companies working in the area of saline water conversion participated in the summit.
Al-Hussayen said the first award was for being the best water desalination organization in the world as it is using the most advanced equipment.
The second award was for the desalination station in Ras Al-Khair, which has shown unprecedented high standards of operations and efficiency.
The minister said that around 90 years ago, King Abdul Aziz ordered construction of a desalination plant in Jeddah, which used seawater as the only resource. The plant had a daily production capacity of 300 cubic meters. “Now, the desalination capacity in the Kingdom has reached 5 million cubic meters per day. It covers 46 cities and governorates with an average supply of 150 liters per person per day, produced at 30 desalination plants.”
The total length of supply pipeline is 7,000 km. It caters to around 60 percent of domestic use in the Kingdom, making Saudi Arabia the largest producer of desalinated water in the world.
Its electricity co-generation capacity has reached 7,500MW and is considered one of the major electricity producers in the country.
Al-Hussayen said that the corporation is 90 percent dependent on the local human resources for its operations. It is also focusing on locally training the nationals. It presented 42,000 training opportunities. It is also promoting research and development.
Kingdom wins laurels in water desalination
Kingdom wins laurels in water desalination
Saudi ambassador to Guinea sees off first group of Hajj pilgrims from country
- Al-Rashidi said the Kingdom was fully prepared for Hajj
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Guinea Fahad Al-Rashidi on Sunday saw off this year’s first group of Guinean Hajj pilgrims heading from Conakry to the Kingdom.
Al-Rashidi said the Kingdom was fully prepared for the pilgrimage, during which millions of pilgrims from various parts of the world will perform their rituals in the best possible manner, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The ambassador said that due to God’s grace and the generous care and directives of the Saudi leadership, the Kingdom had mobilized its resources, personnel, and capabilities to ensure the comfort, security, and safety of pilgrims.
Indian Hajj pilgrims take train from Jeddah to Makkah
JEDDAH: Traditionally, all pilgrims arriving at Jeddah International Airport travel to Makkah by buses provided by Saudi authorities. This year, however, special arrangements have been made by the Consulate General of India in Jeddah, in tandem with the Saudi authorities, for some Indian pilgrims to travel via the Haramain High Speed Railway from Jeddah airport to Makkah.
About 32,000 Indian pilgrims will benefit from this exclusive service, reducing travel time by half thanks to the train’s maximum speed of 300 kph.
To commemorate the historic occasion, India’s ambassador, Dr. Suhel Ajaz Khan, and Consul General Mohd Shahid Alam accompanied Indian pilgrims on the inaugural journey from Jeddah airport to Makkah on Sunday.
The pilgrims arrived in the Kingdom on a Saudia flight from Mumbai.
They were joined by Khaled Al-Harbi, senior vice president of operations at Saudi Arabia Railways, as well as officials from the ministries of Hajj and Umrah, and transport.
This is the first time Saudi Arabia is transporting a limited number of Hajj pilgrims directly from Jeddah airport to Makkah by train.
This year, 175,000 pilgrims from India will participate, with 140,000 organized through the Hajj Committee of India.
KSrelief calls for coordinating humanitarian efforts with WHO
- Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah urges international action amidst humanitarian crisis
RIYADH: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor-general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief, said he wants to boost the partnership with the World Health Organization to improve and coordinate response efforts, ensure all resources are allocated efficiently, and enable communities to become more resilient and independent.
Speaking at a session titled “From Crisis to Opportunity: Health in the Eastern Mediterranean Region,” at the 77th World Health Assembly, held in Geneva, Switzerland, Al-Rabeeah thanked the WHO for efforts to address the humanitarian crises in the Eastern Mediterranean region, including conflicts, migration and economic instability.
He said that the Saudi leadership made intensive and generous efforts to alleviate the suffering of millions of people in need in the region and around the world, particularly children, women and vulnerable groups.
Al-Rabeeah said that the total humanitarian assistance provided by Saudi Arabia to the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean exceeded $1.4 billion. He added that KSrelief recently announced a $500 million contribution to efforts to eradicate polio over the next five years.
He mentioned that the center provides comprehensive health treatment and support services in humanitarian emergencies.
Furthermore, KSrelief has implemented various volunteer programs in the medical sector as part of its relief and humanitarian endeavors, including 298 projects worth over $46 million in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Al-Rabeeah urged all parties in conflict areas to ensure that relief aid providers are allowed to deliver aid in a safe and effective manner.
When aid delivery is prevented and attacks on humanitarian workers and hospital staff are allowed, he said, those in need suffer even more. The situations in the Gaza Strip and Sudan are clear examples of this, he added.
Al-Rabeeah said that KSrelief works closely with its partners to overcome challenges and ensure the safe delivery of aid even under the most difficult circumstances. For instance, during the siege of Taiz in Yemen, the center used airdrops to deliver assistance and even resorted to camels to deliver medical supplies, oxygen cylinders and other urgent items to remote mountain locations where health services were either very limited or unavailable, he said.
In Gaza, the center succeeded in assisting with the area’s current challenges.
“Restricted access to Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, water, medical supplies and other much-needed items,” he said, urging restrictions be changed to save lives, especially those of children, women and the elderly.
Al-Rabeeah urged the international community to take decisive action to protect health facilities and humanitarian workers, and all authorities to abide by international humanitarian law.
He also called for involving healthcare workers in policy-making processes, to ensure that their expertise and experience are used to shape effective healthcare strategies.
Al-Rabeeah emphasized the crucial role of international collaboration in ensuring that all people in need have access to humanitarian assistance and medical care.
Harvard witnesses graduation of 60 Saudi students from elite US universities
RIYADH: The Saudi Club at Harvard University recently organized a graduation ceremony for Saudi graduates from Harvard University, MIT, Boston University, and Tufts University.
The event took place on Harvard’s campus in Boston and was attended by Mohammed Khashaan, director of the public diplomacy department at the Saudi Embassy in the US, Saudi Press Agency reported.
During the ceremony, Khashaan said that the distinguished Saudi students are graduating in light of the transformations occurring under Saudi Vision 2030.
He highlighted the investment in the nation’s talented individuals, and said that the Kingdom is experiencing economic, industrial, and environmental growth, accompanied by renewed opportunities for its citizens to pursue their dreams, and contribute to building the future of the nation and the world.
Additionally, US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney, delivered a recorded speech in which he congratulated the graduating students and thanked the Saudi Club for organizing the event to celebrate their achievements.
“I have been in Saudi Arabia for only a year, and the professional and personal opportunities here have never been greater. Your country is rich in resources, but its most valuable asset is its human capabilities,” Ratney said.
He also highlighted the diversity he has observed in various fields, from filmmaking to video game development and space travel, and expressed his happiness at witnessing this growth.
Saudi Arabia appoints first envoy to Syria in more than a decade
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has appointed Faisal Al-Mujfel as the kingdom’s new ambassador to Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
“The honored ambassador extends his thanks to the leadership on the occasion of his appointment as Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic,” SPA said.
Al-Mujfel is the kingdom's first envoy to Damascus since the closure of the Saudi embassy there in 2012 during the Syrian civil war.
Syria reopened its embassy in Riyadh last year and appointed a new ambassador in December.
