HELSINKI: The general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, met Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki on Sunday.

Al-Rabeeah briefed Haavisto on humanitarian projects being provided by the center to needy people throughout the world. These have so far reached 1,062 projects, most of which are allocated to the Yemeni people.

The projects are being implemented in cooperation with local partners and specialized UN organizations.

Haavisto expressed his appreciation for the Kingdom’s humanitarian efforts through the center and their importance in alleviating the suffering of many countries.

Also in a symposium held in Helsinki, Al-Rabeeah said that the Kingdom was doing its utmost to support the needy in countries affected by natural disasters or conflicts, to alleviate their suffering and provide decent livelihoods for them.

Minister of Local Administration and Chairman of the Higher Committee for Relief in Yemen Abdul-Raqeeb Fatah thanked the Kingdom for the humanitarian projects provided to his country. He said that the center had become an international symbol of relief despite its short life.

Dr. Ville Brummer, a program director at the Finnish Crisis Management Initiative, said that the aid allocated by the Kingdom for relief work and assistance to countries made it one of the leading contributors in this area. What distinguished the Saudi assistance was that it was provided for the relief of victims and not for other purposes, he said.

Brummer expressed his hope of finding ways of cooperation and fruitful partnership between Finland and KSRelief to serve the needy and spread humanitarian work in all countries.

The symposium was attended by Saudi Ambassador to Finland Faisal bin Ibrahim Ghulam, political leaders, members of the diplomatic corps in Finland, human rights and humanitarian organizations, and academic figures.