Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan underscored the importance of finding radical solutions to humanitarian crises. He emphasized that the Kingdom is keen to extend a helping hand to countries and peoples in need around the world.

The foreign minister made the remarks while addressing the fourth Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum at King Faisal Conference Hall in Riyadh on Monday. The two-day conference is organized by King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), under the patronage of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, and in partnership with UN humanitarian agencies.

The inaugural session was also attended by Riyadh Emir Prince Faisal bin Bandar and KSrelief Supervisor General Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. The event, themed “Navigating the future of humanitarian response," is being held in conjunction with the 10^th anniversary of KSrelief, the relief arm of Saudi Arabia.

In his speech, Prince Faisal highlighted the significance of developing humanitarian work by developing constructive solutions, enhancing cooperation and sharing information and expertise to contribute to achieving humanitarian work, and finding innovative solutions to avoid widening the gap between humanitarian needs and available resources. "Saudi Arabia has been keen, throughout its history, to extend a helping hand to countries and peoples in need and to provide relief to those affected around the world without discrimination based on its humanitarian principles. The Kingdom has made great efforts until it became one of the major donor countries for humanitarian and development aid at the international level, as the total humanitarian aid provided by the Kingdom exceeded $133 billion, benefiting more than 172 countries around the world," he said.

The foreign minister said that the Kingdom, under the directives of the wise leadership, launched a host of humanitarian campaigns to help people in the affected countries, most notably the popular campaign to aid the people in Palestine with a total donation of more than SR700 million, in addition to the Masam project to remove mines in Yemeni territories, where the project has contributed since 2018 to removing more than 430,000 mines. The Kingdom also took the initiative since the beginning of the Sudanese crisis to work on the Jeddah 1 and Jeddah 2 agreements, which contributed to ensuring the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need.

Prince Faisal stressed the importance of the role of effective humanitarian diplomacy in coordinating efforts and enhancing the humanitarian response as a supporting force for diplomatic efforts in overcoming humanitarian challenges by adhering to the principles of international and humanitarian law through securing humanitarian corridors, and contributing to dialogue and negotiation to ensure the delivery of aid.

"Saudi diplomacy seeks to mediate between countries to resolve conflicts through peaceful means and promote dialogue, understanding and rapprochement for sustainable peace, as current events in the region and the world highlight our urgent need for a unified humanity to establish the principle of human dignity and respect for it. It is also imperative to intensify efforts to prevent the horrors of war and cooperate during crises in providing assistance in accordance with international humanitarian law and its related principles of action," he said while highlighting the importance of coordinating efforts in light of the challenges imposed by crises and the pressures caused by natural disasters on the international community, which is suffering from increasing burdens.

The minister also drew attention to the importance of humanitarian diplomacy to achieve the desired goals by enhancing humanitarian access and increasing the effectiveness of relief efforts by influencing the decision-making mechanism.