Saudi king, WHO chief discuss ways to enhance cooperation

King Salman meeting with World Health Organization chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Sunday. (SPA)
Updated 29 April 2018
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Saudi king, WHO chief discuss ways to enhance cooperation

  • WHO and UNICEF is seeking donors to help them fight cholera epidemic, including support for the water and sanitation sectors in Yemen
  • Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has directed the KSRelief to allocate $66.7 million for that purpose

RIYADH: King Salman received Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh on Sunday.

The meeting reviewed ways to increase cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the WHO. 

Recently, in response to funding appeals from WHO and UNICEF to help them fight cholera epidemic, including support for the water and sanitation sectors in Yemen, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman directed the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) to allocate $66.7 million.

The WHO collaborates with many organizations to support countries achieve their national health development goals, and ensures that all efforts are coordinated.

According to WHO’s official website, in Saudi Arabia these organizations include the UN agencies, humanitarian and development partners, donors, non-governmental organizations, WHO collaborating centers and the private sector. 

Physicians, public health specialists, scientists, social scientists and epidemiologists provide appropriate technical support and collaboration upon the request or acceptance of national authorities.

WHO staff in Saudi Arabia include experts in the fields of health.

 

 

 


Saudi, Pakistan defense chiefs discuss ‘measures needed to halt’ Iranian attacks on Kingdom

Updated 11 min 46 sec ago
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Saudi, Pakistan defense chiefs discuss ‘measures needed to halt’ Iranian attacks on Kingdom

RIYADH: Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and Pakistan’s  Chief of Defense Forces Asim Munir discussed Iran’s attacks on the Kingdom, amid the escalating military conflict in the Middle East. 

“We discussed Iranian attacks on the Kingdom and the measures needed to halt them within the framework of our Joint Strategic Defense Agreement,” Prince Khalid wrote on social media early on Saturday.

“We stressed that such actions undermine regional security and stability and expressed hope that the Iranian side will exercise wisdom and avoid miscalculation.”

The US and Israel began a large-scale military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran has since attacked a number of sites across the Gulf.

Tehran has also attacked US and Israeli military assets as the war as escalated, impacting lives in the peaceful Arabian Gulf peninsula and risked shaking the global economy as Iran continued restricting energy shipping along the Strait of Hormuz.

The Saudi Defense Ministry said a number of drones had been shot down that were targeting the Shayba oil field in the Empty Quarter on Saturday.

A drone attacked the US embassy in Riyadh on Tuesday causing a minor fire, but no one was hurt in the incident.

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a “Strategic Mutual Defense Agreement”  in September, pledging that aggression against one country would be treated as an attack on both.

Separately, Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif, the Saudi interior minister, received a call from his Pakistani counterpart Raza Naqvi, who condemned the blatant attacks targeting the Kingdom and affirmed his country’s solidarity in confronting any threats to the Kingdom’s security and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Saturday.