NEW YORK: The Kingdom’s ambassador to the UN praised the global organization for continuing its programs during the COVID-19 pandemic and for its liveliness in meeting new and emerging challenges, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Abdullah Al-Mouallimi made the remarks while giving a speech at a meeting of the Fifth Committee during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly.
The envoy congratulated the head of the Fifth Committee and others on their election as members of the office. He also expressed the Kingdom’s aspiration to work with the committee during the session to ensure it completed its work in a timely manner and that the organization had the required resources to complete its tasks.
Al-Mouallimi expressed the Kingdom’s sincere thanks and appreciation to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for introducing the organization’s proposed program budget for 2022. He also thanked Abdallah Bachar Bong, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, for submitting the committee’s relevant report.
He said the Kingdom supported the statement made by the G77 countries and China about the program budget being one of the most important agenda items of this session.
“It is not just a document full of figures, but a moral document that presents a strategic vision of the organization. In dealing with specific budget proposals, Saudi Arabia welcomes the integration of parts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East to benefit from regular budget funding, as this would ensure more stable and predictable funding that the agency will use to achieve its mandate,” he said, noting that the Kingdom was one of the agency’s largest contributors. “While welcoming the increased development pillar in the budget, the Kingdom is concerned about the reductions affecting regional committees, including the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.”
The Saudi envoy commended the progress achieved by the UN secretary-general to push forward his strategy for gender equality and the integration of people with disabilities.
Al-Mouallimi said the Kingdom was committed to working constructively with the committee and all delegations on the budget item in order to reach an agreement in the interests of the organization.
Saudi envoy praises UN for continuing its work during pandemic
https://arab.news/vz4ha
Saudi envoy praises UN for continuing its work during pandemic
- Remarks made during talks about proposed program budget
Kingdom key player in regional peace, EU official says
- Hana Jalloul Muro highlights Riyadh’s role in regional stability, economic growth and advancing EU-Saudi strategic ties
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised Saudi Arabia’s role as a “reliable partner” to the EU.
Describing the Kingdom as a “key international actor,” she highlighted its pivotal role in regional stability, including brokering peace talks on Ukraine, promoting peace in Palestine, and supporting stable governments in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Saudi is a reliable partner because it is a country that has demonstrated that with Vision 2030, only in the last five, six years, it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she added: “Saudi Arabia is becoming a key major player in the international arena now — for peace conversations on Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, paying Syria’s external debt, stabilizing the government in Lebanon, promoting peace in Gaza, in Palestine and pushing for a ceasefire, too.
“So, I think it is a very key international actor, very important in the region for stability,” Muro added.
Explaining why she considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “It’s a country that knows how to see to the East and to the West.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
In mid-December 2025, the European Parliament endorsed a road map to elevate EU-Saudi relations into a full-fledged strategic partnership, which Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea described as “an important milestone” in bilateral ties.
The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to advancing a safe, mutually beneficial visa-free arrangement with the five GCC countries to ensure equal treatment under the new EU visa strategy.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of irregular migration pressure.
When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into account its importance. We need to advance on that because we are in the framework of this strategic partnership agreement that covers many topics, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key issue.”
She added: “I think by now we recognize the international role of Saudi Arabia and how important it is to us as a neighbor — not only for security, counter-terrorism and energy, but for everything. We need to get closer to partners like the GCC, Saudi specifically.
“And I think that we need to take Saudi Arabia as a very big ally of ours,” Muro said.
During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain.
On the sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to discuss ways to further strengthen Saudi-EU relations.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, saying: “I have to congratulate you and the government, your country, on doing a great job.”
