Saudi Gazette report

YAOUND’E, CAMEROON — Deputy Foreign Minister Eng. Walid Al-Kheraiji said that the value of donations extended by Saudi Arabia to Gaza reached more than $185 million. Addressing the 50th session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Yaoundé, capital of Cameroon, on Thursday, the deputy minister renewed Saudi Arabia’s condemnation and rejection of all forms of crimes against the Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation forces.

“The Israeli occupation forces disregard international resolutions and laws, and that has resulted in the loss of the lives of tens of thousands of Palestinians, most of whom are women, children and innocent civilians, amid the absence of international accountability, and the inability of the Security Council to take deterrent measures,” he said. The conference is being held under the theme of “Developing the transport and communications infrastructure within the framework of the OIC: A key tool in combating poverty and insecurity.”

Al-Kheraiji emphasized that Saudi Arabia continues to provide relief aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip with popular participation, through the popular campaign to provide relief to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip launched by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSrelief). “The value of Saudi donations has currently reached more than $185 million,” he said while drawing attention to the Saudi efforts along with sister countries to stop the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people as well as for the recognition of the State of Palestine by a number of Western countries. “This happened mainly during the Kingdom’s chairmanship of the ministerial committee, established by the extraordinary Arab-Islamic summit held in Riyadh last year. The Riyadh summit also decided to establish a legal center to document violations, and a media center,” he said.

Regarding the crisis in Sudan, Al-Kheraiji reiterated the Kingdom’s firm positions on preserving the security and stability of Sudan, and its call in this regard for the necessity of the parties to the Sudanese crisis returning to dialogue to spare Sudan further suffering.

On the Yemeni issue, the deputy minister said that the Saudi government continues to support efforts to resolve the crisis in Yemen, and its efforts to restore peace, and establish security and stability in the country. He reiterated the Kingdom’s initiative to end the war, and reach a comprehensive political solution.

Al-Kheraiji warned of the danger of escalation in the Red Sea region, which undermines efforts to preserve the security and stability of international navigation corridors and global trade, and threatens freedom of navigation, and the growth of the global economy.

He stressed that Saudi Arabia has never hesitated to harness all its capabilities to serve humanitarian issues and work to provide development support to friendly countries, for the growth and prosperity of the region and the world. He welcomed member states, their institutions, and international donor partners at the OIC Donors Conference, which is to be hosted by the Kingdom in October 2024.

Al-Kheraiji revealed the Kingdom’s continued efforts alongside Maldives to hold a joint conference titled “Enhancing integrity in the tourism sector,” in order to enhance the goals of joint Islamic action, calling on the agencies concerned with combating corruption and tourism in the OIC member states to participate in this important conference.