RIYADH: UN Secretary-General António Guterres visited the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) in Riyadh on Tuesday, where he held talks on strengthening cooperation between the UN and the Kingdom’s leading humanitarian institution.
Guterres met Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSrelief, along with senior officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Saudi Arabia’s permanent representative to the UN in New York, Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al-Wasil, was also present.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed humanitarian and relief priorities, as well as ways to expand collaboration between KSrelief and various UN agencies, 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 programme, the Masam demining initiative in Yemen, the Kafak scheme to reintegrate Yemeni children formerly associated with armed conflict, KSrelief’s voluntary medical missions, and its conjoined twins programme.
The center’s work in digital relief platforms, international documentation and registration, and other humanitarian initiatives was also showcased.
Guterres later toured KSrelief’s permanent exhibition, featuring an interactive map of beneficiary countries, multimedia human-interest stories, volunteer program displays, and a “messages of hope” corner, where he also used virtual-reality headsets offering immersive depictions of refugee and displaced-person experiences.
The UN chief met Saudi medical volunteers involved in KSrelief missions abroad, hearing 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 programmes with KSrelief.
