RIYADH: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Saudi aid agency KSrelief in Riyadh on Thursday, where he held talks on strengthening cooperation between the UN and the Kingdom’s leading humanitarian institution.

Guterres met Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah — adviser at the Royal Court and supervisor general of KSrelief — along with senior officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Wasil, Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, was also present.

The two sides discussed humanitarian and relief priorities, as well as ways to expand collaboration between KSrelief and various UN agencies, the SPA added.

Officials also presented an overview of the center’s expanding global portfolio, which has now reached 3,881 projects across 109 countries, worth more than $8 billion.

Projects highlighted included the artificial limbs program; the Masam demining initiative in Yemen; the scheme to reintegrate Yemeni children formerly associated with armed conflict; voluntary medical missions; and KSrelief’s Conjoined Twins Program.

The center’s work on digital relief platforms, international documentation and registration, and other humanitarian initiatives was also showcased.

Guterres later toured KSrelief’s permanent exhibition, which featured an interactive map of beneficiary countries; multimedia human-interest stories; volunteer program displays; and a “messages of hope” corner at which he used a virtual-reality headset which attempted to simulate the experiences of refugees and displaced people.

The UN chief also met Saudi medical volunteers involved in KSrelief missions abroad, and heard their accounts of delivering assistance on the ground.

He then visited offices of partner organizations and international bodies housed within the center, receiving briefings on their joint programs with KSrelief.