Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has been honored for his humanitarian efforts by from the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO), the Saudi Press Agency reported.

King Salman was awarded with Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Necklace of the First Class, which is the highest honor from ARCO. The necklace was presented to the King during a reception in Riyadh on Wednesday.

The monarch was chosen for the top honor in appreciation of his humanitarian and diplomatic efforts at regional and international levels to alleviate the human suffering as well as in acknowledgement of the pioneering humanitarian role of the Kingdom, which topped the list of donor countries with aid exceeding $40 billion during the past 15 years until 2019.

Speaking on the occasion, King Salman appreciated ARCO’s role in humanitarian work, wishing it every success in all humanitarian efforts.

In his speech, Al-Tuwaijri thanked and appreciated the humanitarian, relief and development assistance provided by the Kingdom to those affected by disasters and crises and the King’s efforts at regional and international levels to alleviate human suffering. “The Kingdom tops the list of donor countries and allocates from its national income the highest percentage of aid compared to the rest of donor countries, as documented statistics showed that the amount of Saudi aid exceeded $40 billion that was distributed among 124 countries in all continents over a period of the last 15years,” he added.

The reception was also attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal Bin Farhan; Minister of State, Member of the Cabinet and National Security Adviseor Dr. Musaed Al-Aiban, Minister of Health and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah and a number of ARCO members.