Day: June 6, 2023

President Bashar al-Assad sees that Lebanon’s strength lies in its political and economic stability and that the Lebanese people have the potentials to make this stability through dialogue and consensus, and the most significant is by adhering to the principles of not betting on changes.

President al-Assad’s words came during his meeting with former Lebanese President General Michel Aoun on Tuesday in Damascus.

President al-Assad added “General Aoun played a role in maintaining the fraternal relation between Syria and Lebanon for the interest of the two countries,” expressing his confidence on the Lebanese capability to overcome all the problems and challenges and devote the role of their national and constitutional institutions.

“Syria and Lebanon cannot consider their challenges in isolation from each other,” President al-Assad went on to say, noting that the Arab-Arab rapprochement that took place recently and was manifested in Arab League Jeddah Summit will positively affect Syria and Lebanon.

Gen. Aoun, in turn, stressed that the Lebanese people adhere to their national unity despite all circumstances.

He also considered that Syria has overcome the difficult and serious stage thanks to the awareness of its people and their faith in their army and leadership.

The former Lebanese President underlined that Syria’s prosperity will have positive impact on Lebanon and its people.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly kicked off Tuesday in Nairobi, Kenya with the participation of Syria.

Thematic debates and discussions during the Assembly, being held from 5 to 9 June 2023, will focus on a number of topics, namely universal access to affordable housing, urban climate action, urban crises recovery, localization of the SDGs, prosperity and local finance under the theme of “A sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises.”

The delegation representing Syria to the event is headed by Deputy Minister of Local Administration and Environment, Moataz Kattan; with the membership of Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing, Marie-Claire Al-Talli; Chargé d’ Affaires of the Syrian Embassy in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, Akram Al-Hadi; and Modar Donia, Deputy General Manager of the General Company of Engineering Studies.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

A Russian delegation visited on Tuesday the archaeological site of Ugarit Kingdom in Wadi Qandil (Tal al-Samaliya) to inspect the work of Russian excavation mission in Lattakia, in the framework of the cooperation between Lattakia and Russian province of Nizhny Novgorod.

Deputy Governor of Nizhny Province, Peter Vitalyevich Banikov, underlined in a press statement the necessity of enhancing relations between Nizhny Novgorod province and Lattakia in all domains, including cultural ones.

“The archaeological site is very significant, and considered as one of the historical landmarks and is likely to be the oldest place for antiquities in the history of mankind and the history of Syria,” Banikov said.

He affirmed that Russia is ready to offer assistance and support to preserve the history of Syria, and to reconstruct this historical site.

In turn, Vice-Rector for Languages at Nizhny Novgorod University , Anna Mikhalina, expressed happiness with mutual cooperation in the domain of culture and tourism.

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, left Jeddah today.

At King Abdulaziz International Airport, he was seen off by the Deputy Governor of Makkah Region, Prince Badr bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz; the Minister of State, Cabinet Member and the accompanying minister Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, and a number of senior civil and military officials.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Today, the Secretary-General of King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue (KACND), Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Fawzan, welcomed the Swiss Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Yasmine Chatila, and her delegation at the KACND headquarters in Riyadh. The meeting was also attended by the Deputy Secretary-General and other KACND leaders.

During the visit, the delegation was briefed on the efforts exerted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to promote values of tolerance and moderation and to strengthen human connections among different societal groups. They also reviewed KACND’s key programs and events aimed at enhancing coexistence and national cohesion concepts.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The Minister of Human Resources and Social Development Eng. Ahmad bin Sulaiman Al-Rajhi referred to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts in achieving social justice and equality among individuals, providing support and funding programs for jobseekers and social finance programs, as well as care and rehabilitation programs for those in need of permanent assistance with the aim of building a stable, balanced and equal society.

Heading the Kingdom’s delegation participating in the 111th session of the International Labour Conference in Geneva, held under the theme “Social Justice for All”, with the participation of officials from 187 countries and representatives of employers and workers, Al-Rajhi said: “The Kingdom is keen to ensure the sustainable social well-being of its citizens and residents, which has contributed to a significant increase in employment opportunities in various fields, resulting in a drop in the unemployment rate for the total population of the Kingdom by the end of 2022 to 4.8%, which is an unprecedented figure.”

Source: Saudi Press Agency

The total issuance of Government Treasury Bills stood at RO 14 Million for a maturity period of 91 days.

The average accepted price reached RO 98.765 for every RO 100, and the minimum accepted price arrived at RO 98.765 per RO 100. The average discount rate and the average yield reached 4.95357% and 5.01551%, respectively.

Treasury Bills are short-term highly secured financial instruments issued by the Ministry of Finance, and they provide licensed commercial banks the opportunity to invest their surplus funds. The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) acts as the Issue Manager and provides theadded advantage of ready liquidity through discounting and repurchase facilities (Repo).

The interest rate on the Repo operations with CBO is 5.75% while the discount rate on the Treasury Bills Discounting Facility with CBO is 6.25%.

Furthermore, Treasury Bills promote the local money market by creating a benchmark yield curve for short-term interest rates. Additionally, the Government may also resort to this instrument whenever felt necessary for financing its recurrent expenditures.

Source: Oman News Agency