Saudi Gazette Report

NEW YORK — Addressing the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) on Saturday, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan confirmed that Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to the human rights file. The Kingdom’s laws contain explicit provisions to protect and enhance these rights.

He stated that Saudi Arabia, through its development approach, aims to create a comprehensive and sustainable renaissance centered on the human being, who will lead the wheel of present development and shape the future through knowledge.

Vision 2030 of the Kingdom has the goal of enhancing development and building efforts to meet the aspirations of future generations, empower women and youth, foster innovation and creativity, and uphold values of openness, dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence.

The minister also indicated in his speech that Saudi Arabia stresses the need for countries to commit to the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international legitimacy.

The Kingdom aspires toward a better future for humanity, based on mutual respect for the sovereignty, independence, and values of nations, and non-interference in their internal affairs.

Prince Faisal renewed the Kingdom’s call for reforming the Security Council to fulfill its role fairly and effectively, keeping pace with the transformations and developments of the international community, and addressing common challenges efficiently.

The foreign minister also renewed Saudi Arabia’s emphasis on the necessity of maintaining international peace and security, noting that Saudi Arabia is making every effort to resolve international and regional conflicts in accordance with international principles and norms.

The Kingdom believes that security and stability in any region can only be achieved through cooperation and consultation between countries, with Saudi Arabia calling for avoiding an arms race.

He emphasized that the Kingdom stresses the importance of efforts to achieve the goals of eliminating nuclear weapons to create a world free of nuclear weapons, especially in the Middle East region.

Regarding extremism, Prince Faisal pointed out the Kingdom’s emphasis on the importance of the international community standing firm against supporting terrorism and extremism.

“We must not tolerate, but rather reject all forms of violating sanctities, promoting ideas of hatred and Islamophobia, and repeating incidents of burning copies of the Holy Qur’an,” Prince Faisal said.

He warned of the danger of these actions, which undermine mutual respect and harmony among peoples, noting that these actions contradict international efforts to spread the values of tolerance, moderation, and reject extremism.

During his speech, the minister noted that Saudi Arabia prioritizes energy market stability and is keen to maintain its reliability and security to ensure a healthy global economy that benefits producers and consumers.

He credited OPEC+ policies for their role in maintaining equilibrium.

The Saudi foreign minister touched on the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, reiterating the Kingdom’s call to end it, resolve differences, and limit its negative repercussions on the security and stability of the world.

“Saudi Arabia stands prepared to facilitate ongoing mediation efforts to find a resolution to the Ukrainian crisis,” he said.

Prince Faisal said that Saudi Arabia reaffirms its opposition to unilateral measures that hinder the solution of the Palestinian issue, noting that the security of the Middle East is built on a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue.