Saleh Fareed

Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — Collaborations involving the European Union and Saudi Arabia will include a wide range of programs, projects and aid to Third World countries as well as joint counterterrorism efforts, said a top European diplomat.



Speaking to Saudi Gazette while visiting to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Marcus Cornaro, deputy director-general of the European Commission’s Directorate General for Development and Cooperation — EuropeAid (DEVCO), said Saudi Arabia has confirmed its interest to be part of the growing collaboration with the European Union in the Third World.



“Saudi Arabia is ... playing a major role in supporting our programs,” he said.



On the purpose of his visit to the Middle East, he said: “It is to interact with a number of Arab organizations on the possibility of doing programs and projects in the region where we have common interest in various sectors.”



During his visit, Cornaro discussed key issues with top officials of the Islamic Development Bank and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.



He said: “As a result of our discussion, both sides expressed the same interests and understandings where we can achieve the same goals.



“Besides exchanging views on the current political scene in the Middle East, one of the important issues we discussed with the Islamic Development Bank was the project to build a desalination plant in the Gaza Strip to provide 75,000 Palestinians with drinking water.”



He said the joint EU and UNICEF project would cost half a billion dollars. “Access to clean water is a fundamental human right for all, and yet many Gazans face acute water shortages on a day-to-day basis.



“With the support of GCC states, we really need to register progress on flagship projects such as the desalination plant in Gaza.”



Speaking about the results of his visit to Saudi Arabia, he said: “We have not finalized concrete projects because my visit was aimed to clarify how to develop some of the discussed issues within the next few months.”



Cornaro who visited recently Sierra Leone and Liberia, which have been affected by Ebola, said: “The European Commission is continuing its active participation in the efforts to contain the outbreak of Ebola, which has already claimed 2,811 lives in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. “We are determined to help the countries and the many victims with immediate support through humanitarian aid.”