JEDDAH: The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) helped 43 countries last year, a spokesman for the agency said Friday, as assistance to Yemen was stepped up.
Chalhoub bin Abdullah Chalhoub told a forum, titled “The intervention to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in the Muslim world,” in Cairo that the center provided assistance regardless of race, religion or nationality.
He said KSRelief sought to transfer its experience in relief and humanitarian work to Islamic countries and organizations.
Chalhoub said that the center’s assistance and promotion of humanitarian actions in Muslim countries come from a vision based on the Saudi pioneering role in relief and humanitarian action to convey Saudi values to the world.
In February alone the agency helped Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, Yemeni patients and internally displaced people in Nigeria.
Chalhoub was speaking on the sidelines of the first ever cultural and artistic festival organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) titled “One nation and diverse cultures... Palestine in our heart.”
Other speakers at the symposium were KSRelief’s Dr. Yahya Al-Shammari, Hassan Abdel Moneim from the International Organization for Migration, Dr. Abeer Atifah of the World Food Programme and Osama Maher from the World Health Organization.
Delegates watched a documentary about Saudi relief and humanitarian efforts and the support provided to countries worldwide. There was also a presentation of statistics for countries benefiting from the Kingdom’s assistance.
As many as 2,501,897 Yemenis benefited from medical services provided by KSRelief in 2018, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The aid was given on the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammed bin Salman.
The center is also actively involved in the rehabilitation of children affected by the war.
The program aims to help the children return to their normal lives, through teaching them and practicing different sports, as well as field trips. KSRelief plans to rehabilitate 2,000 children who were recruited by the Houthis.
A volunteer medical team from the agency has been performing open-heart surgeries and catheterizations in Yemen as part of a campaign ending Feb. 9. There have also been further deliveries of dialysis medication.
In the first six days of this campaign, the total number of operations conducted was 24 open-heart surgeries and 64 therapeutic catheterizations.
The father of one of the heart surgery patients brought his daughter from their home in Shabwa to Mukulla for treatment.
He said she had been suffering from heart issues for a long time but the family lacked the financial resources to get her the help she needed.
“We are so grateful for the generosity of KSRelief, which initiated this campaign, bringing hope to our family.”
Another parent also thanked the agency for its help, adding he had tried for eight years to find medical intervention for his son.
Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSRelief at forefront of ‘global humanitarian effort’
Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSRelief at forefront of ‘global humanitarian effort’
- Saudi Arabia’s relief agency extended help to 43 countries in 2018
- A volunteer medical team from the agency has been performing open-heart surgeries and catheterizations in Yemen as part of a campaign ending February 9
Saudi FM leads Gaza committee urging sanctions on Israel
- Ministers also addressed the repression faced by peaceful demonstrators in Western nations who advocate for an end to the conflict in Gaza
RIYADH: Ministers gathering in Riyadh to discuss the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip stressed the urgent need for imposing sanctions on Israel, the Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.
Chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, the meeting comprising dignitaries from a group formed jointly by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Arab League convened to address developments in Gaza.
The ministers called for international legal mechanisms to hold Israeli officials accountable, alongside decisive action against settler terrorism.
The officials from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Palestine, Qatar and the OIC advocated for halting arms exports in response to Israel's violations of international law and war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
It was strongly asserted during the meeting that the Gaza Strip constitutes an inseparable part of the occupied Palestinian territory, rejecting any attempts to displace the Palestinian population from their homeland or to carry out military operations within the city of Rafah.
Ministers also addressed the repression faced by peaceful demonstrators in Western nations who advocate for an end to the conflict in Gaza and condemn Israeli violations against Palestinians.
The meeting also focused on enhancing joint Arab and Islamic efforts to achieve an immediate cessation of hostilities in Gaza, with a priority on safeguarding civilian lives and ensuring the consistent delivery of humanitarian aid.
There was a commitment to persist in international endeavors aimed at recognizing an independent Palestinian state. This included the endorsement of a two-state solution, with East Jerusalem as its capital within the borders of June 4, 1967, in alignment with relevant international resolutions.
Saudi deputy minister attends 50th Arab Labor Conference
RIYADH: Saudi Deputy Minister of Human Resources and Social Development for Labor, Abdullah bin Nasser Abu Thanin, led the Saudi delegation at the 50th session of the Arab Labor Conference, being held from April 27 to May 4 in Baghdad.
Labor ministers, heads and members of delegations from employers’ organizations, and labor unions from 21 Arab countries, along with representatives from the Arab League and other Arab and international organizations, are attending the conference.
The opening session of the conference included the Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani; Arab League Secretary-General, Ahmed Aboul Gheit; and Director General of the International Labor Organization, Gilbert Houngbo.
During the plenary session of the conference, Abu Thanin delivered a speech in which he emphasized the importance of early qualification and training to meet the labor market’s needs, highlighting technical, personal, and social skills as well as modern work patterns.
Abu Thanin also highlighted the Kingdom’s significant commitment to investing in and developing human resources through the Vision 2030 programs and labor market strategy, along with its various initiatives.
He also pointed out the ministry’s initiative in holding the Global Labor Market Conference in partnership with the International Labor Organization and the World Bank, with the participation of a group of international experts and specialists with the aim of setting plans for future changes in the labor market.
The conference participants are expected to discuss several issues and reports, including the arrangement and coordination of Arab participation in the activities of the upcoming International Labor Conference organized by the International Labor Organization, scheduled to be held in Geneva.
The Arab Labor Organization is one of the organizations of the Arab League, established in 1965. It is considered the first specialized Arab organization concerned with labor and workers’ affairs at the level of the Arab world.
Saudi project clears 797 Houthi mines in Yemen
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Project Masam cleared 797 mines in Yemen — which had been planted by the Houthi militia — between April 20 to 26, according to a recent report.
Overseen by the Kingdom’s aid agency KSrelief, the project’s special teams destroyed 681 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 110 anti-tank mines, five improvised explosive devices, and one anti-personnel mine.
The explosives, which were planted indiscriminately by the Houthis across Yemen, posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly.
Project Masam is one of several initiatives undertaken by Saudi Arabia at the request of King Salman, which has cleared routes for humanitarian aid to reach the country’s citizens.
The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada.
A total of 438,413 mines have been cleared since the start of the initiative in 2018, according to Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the project’s managing director.
These include 279,683 items of unexploded ordnance, 144,211 anti-tank mines, 8,023 improvised explosive devices, and 6,496 anti-personnel mines.
The initiative trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices.
About 5 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the conflict in Yemen, many of them displaced by the presence of land mines.
Masam teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The project’s contract was extended for another year in June 2023 at a cost of $33.29 million.
Conflict is greatest threat to global economy, Saudi finance minister warns
- Mohammed Al-Jadaan: Wars in Gaza, Ukraine ‘put a lot of pressure on economic emotion’
- Saudi Arabia’s ‘specific objective’ is to deescalate regional tensions, he tells World Economic Forum panel
RIYADH: Geopolitical threats such as the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine pose the greatest risk to the global economy, Saudi Arabia’s finance minister has said.
Speaking in a panel discussion during the special two-day World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh, Mohammed Al-Jadaan warned that the knock-on effects of conflict are “directly impacting economies.”
He said: “Geopolitical threats, which unfortunately are increasing instead of decreasing, are possibly the number one risk today if you look at the global economy at large. Geopolitical tensions bring other things that are directly impacting economies.”
Conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and elsewhere “put a lot of pressure on economic emotion,” he added, describing economies as being “impacted by sentiments.”
Al-Jadaan said: “It is very unfortunate to see loss of lives. Civilian lives are important whether in Ukraine, or in Palestine.
“Cool-headed countries and leaders need to prevail; you need to make sure you deescalate.”
The Kingdom has exerted significant efforts in recent years to deescalate tensions in the Middle East, he added, describing the strategy as a “specific objective” of Saudi Arabia.
“The region needs to focus on its people, its growth and its economy, rather than focus on politics and conflict.”
The conflict in Gaza, which began following the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, has resulted in the deaths of almost 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who took part in a separate panel at the meeting, said that “110,000 people have been killed or wounded in Gaza since Oct. 7 ” and that “75 percent of the territory” in the enclave has been destroyed by devastating Israeli military action.
“What happened in Gaza has not happened in Germany and other European countries during the Second World War,” he said, adding: “The fighting in Gaza must stop immediately and we warn against any plans for displacement.”
The Saudi finance minister warned that “geopolitical maneuvering,” including “fragmentation, protectionism and using the economy as a serious tool to achieve objectives in terms of limitations on trade and technology” could have adverse effects on global economic health.
“Policymakers need to be agile in dealing with these,” Al-Jadaan said.
Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, described fragmentation in the world economy as “certainly bad for the prospect of growth.”
In the meeting’s opening panel, she said: “The immediate priorities for countries are to get inflation rates within targets; focus on rebuilding fiscal buffers and find ways to cooperate more.
In his comments to the panel, Al-Jadaan said: “In economic planning, it is OK to change … to adjust on new circumstances. And that to me is the advice I would give to everyone. You need a long-term plan, like Saudi Vision 2030, and doubling down on the implementation, but also you need to make sure you adjust.
“In the longer term, regardless of what is happening today, you need to focus on your own people, your human capital. This is the longer term play that is critical.
“I can say this: Saudi Arabia and the region has the means to do it, but there are a lot of countries who will find it difficult to provide quality education and quality healthcare for their people,” he said.
About 1,000 officials, experts and thought leaders from 92 countries are in Riyadh for the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development.
The event aims to “promote forward-thinking approaches to interconnected crises, while remaining realistic about shorter-term trade-offs” and “work to bridge the growing North-South divide on issues such as emerging economic policies, the energy transition and geopolitical shocks.”
Heba Ismail brings Saudi representation to NFT ecosystem
- Heba Ismail is highlighting ways for artists to flourish in the digital world
JEDDAH: Saudi artist Heba Ismail showcased her work at the Outer Edge Innovation Summit in Riyadh this week.
Commenting on her experience at the summit as one of the first Saudi artists to venture into the Web3 art scene, she said: “Having my paintings displayed on the event screens is a tremendous honor, offering global visibility and inspiring more Saudi and Arab artists to explore the diverse options available for sharing their art with the world.
“Through my participation with Nuqtah, the first Saudi NFT platform, I am eager to present my art on a global stage and connect with audiences in innovative ways,” she continued.
Non-fungible tokens — or NFTs — are, in this scenario, digital tokens that can be redeemed for a digital art work. Ismail is exploring their potential in the Saudi art scene.
HIGHLIGHTS
• With a professional background in dentistry, Heba Ismail found parallels between that meticulous work and her own creative process.
• Partnering with ChainVisory, a blockchain consultancy company, Ismail launched the Hebaism brand.
• It combines NFTs and original paintings, providing collectors with both digital and physical assets.
For Ismail, art has always been more than just a hobby — it’s been a lifelong calling. With a professional background in dentistry, Ismail found parallels between that meticulous work and her own creative process.
Inspired by movements including cubism, fauvism, and surrealism, Ismail’s art is a fusion of diverse influences and personal narratives “Each face represents a feeling and a vision documented on a painting. I paint poetry, and often times each piece is accompanied by a poem,” she said. “As a Saudi female, most of my paintings represent myself and my Saudi culture, which I am proud of. The characters are coded feelings, faces that tell a story — either joy, sadness, or acrimony.”
Her introduction to NFTs came in 2021, sparking a fascination with the technology and its potential. Partnering with ChainVisory, a blockchain consultancy company, Ismail launched her Hebaism brand, which combines NFTs and original paintings, providing collectors with both digital and physical assets.
As a female Saudi artist, I want to leave a mark and impact on every art platform, putting Saudi art on the map worldwide.
Heba Ismail, Saudi artist
“I wanted to keep the authentic classical painting process, yet the NFT world gave me a chance to meet and discover different ways to share my art and build a name and a brand,” she said. “It’s been an enlightening journey, uncovering the futuristic art process and connecting with a vibrant community through Web3.”
Ismail hopes to inspire other artists in the region to explore new avenues for artistic expression.
“As a female Saudi artist, I want to leave a mark and impact on every art platform, putting Saudi art on the map worldwide,” she said.
