MOSCOW: The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) has extended its humanitarian work to 37 countries, said Abdullah Al-Rabiah, adviser to the Royal Court and KSRelief’s general supervisor.
The Center has formed a network of more than 102 local, regional and international partners to implement more than 191 projects worldwide, he added.
His remarks came at a meeting with Russian media representatives during his official visit to Moscow at the invitation of Mikhail Bogdanov, the Russian president’s special envoy for the Middle East and Africa, and deputy foreign minister.
Al-Rabiah briefed them on KSRelief’s various projects, especially in Yemen and Syria. “Since its inception, KSRelief has been able to deliver assistance to many countries in a systematic humanitarian action in accordance with international humanitarian law,” he said.
“The Kingdom’s established principles work to provide assistance without any motives or discrimination, prompted by serving the human being wherever he is, and looking for the needy everywhere and providing them with assistance.”
KSRelief’s humanitarian assistance in Yemen includes environmental sanitation, agricultural and water programs, he said.
“This assistance has reached all parts of Yemen... regardless of who controls them.”
The Center is at the forefront of humanitarian organizations operating in Yemen, he added.
KSRelief, in cooperation with the coalition forces and the Saudi Defense Ministry, broke the siege of the city of Taiz by air-dropping food and medicine, he said.
The Center also used animals to deliver oxygen cylinders to besieged areas, Al-Rabiah added, saying Houthi militias were withholding or looting the aid provided by KSRelief to people in need.
KSRelief extends humanitarian work to 37 countries
KSRelief extends humanitarian work to 37 countries
Japanese researchers hope to restore coral from Saudi-made structures
- Coral skeletons made for Saudi Pavilion at Japan expo last year
- Results of Japanese study to be revealed at Riyadh Expo 2030
TOKYO: Japanese universities are seeking to restore coral reefs and marine ecosystems after receiving artificial structures that Saudi Arabia made and showcased at last year’s Osaka-Kansai Expo.
The coral skeletons were donated to the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa and Kansai University in Osaka Prefecture, Kyodo News reported at the weekend.
The structures are made from calcium carbonate, a material on which corals are believed to grow more easily compared to artificial alternatives such as concrete or metal.
The skeletal structures were created using 3-D printers, with one piece produced a day during the expo, and displayed across an entire wall in the Saudi Arabia Pavilion, which had an area focusing on sustainable marine environments.
Coral reefs serve as habitats for much marine life, but over 40 percent of the world’s 892 species face possible extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The University of the Ryukyus, which received about 150 of the artificial coral skeletons, will place them in waters off the eastern coast of Okinawa’s main island and then examine their impact on the ecosystem.
Kansai University has placed theirs in the sea around Kagoshima Prefecture’s Yoron Island to observe their growth after transplanting coral polyps onto the structures.
The results of the research are expected to be revealed at the Riyadh Expo in 2030.
“I had never imagined that Japan and Saudi Arabia would cooperate on coral research,” said Masato Ueda, a professor specializing in regenerative medicine at Kansai University.
Ueda said he wants to demonstrate to children that “humanity is attempting to restore the environment.”
