Category: General

Jeddah– Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has welcomed the recent first report issued in Geneva by the International Investigation Commission on the Israeli continual violations in the Palestinian territories.

In a key speech delivered by the representative of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on behalf of OIC before the Human Rights Council (HRC), OIC expressed regret of Israel’s lack of cooperation with the committee and other HRC mechanisms to make real breakthroughs.

OIC said the outcome of the report pinpoints the core of the problem, which is to end the decades-long Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, a status quo which violates Geneva 4rth Convention and other international laws.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– The Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Cultural, and Social Affairs and Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for Afghanistan, Ambassador Tarig Ali Bakheet, held today a consultation meeting with the Special Envoy of the European Union for Afghanistan, Thomas Nicholson, who is in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on a working visit.

Discussions at the meeting focused on the sustained and multi-pronged engagement of the OIC on Afghanistan. Unfolding developments in the country, too, were at the center of the exchange.

Both sides emphasized the need to reinforce their mutual cooperation on Afghanistan and other critical issues of shared interest.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– As many as four million visitors from different ages and nationalities flocked to enjoy Jeddah Season events since its launch last May, organizers said, adding that the visitors have jubilantly interacted with the live shows and international experiences that meet all desires and interests.

Jeddah Season have verified the historic, cultural, entertainment and touristy characteristics of the Red Sea city of Jeddah, observers said citing the size of events which hit 2800 including events, experiences, exhibitions, plays, and international parties.

Jeddah Season witnessed, through its diversified options and digital priorities, the biggest mobile games city along the sea at Jeddah Pierre; Anime Village, first of its kind in the world, at City Walk; largest park for animals, rare birds and travel expeditions at Jeddah Jungle; a host of most luxurious international resturants and cafe homes at Jeddah Yachts Club; cultural shows at Jeddah Historical City; international exhibitions at Jeddah Super Dome; cultural fora and events at Prince Majed Park; resturants, shows and shops at Jeddah Art Prominad in addition to a host of events, sea sports, playes and artistic parties combining the entertainment, cultural, touristy and historical aspects.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Saudi Stock Exchange’s main index ended trading lower here today, losing 32.76 points to close at 12,020.68 points.

The total value of the trading reported was SAR 9 billion, while the toll of shares traded was over 231 million, divided into over 455,000 deals.

The Saudi Parallel Market Index (NOMU) ended the day gaining 44.24 points, to close at 21,505.48 points, with a valuation of SAR 87 million and an overall tally of more than 1,600,000 stocks traded and divided into as many as 5,822 deals.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

New York– Jeddah-based Organization of Islamic Cooperation expressed profound concern over the continuation of the sufferings of Rohingya Muslims residing in Rakhin state, complaining from racial segregation and violence, forcing them to migrate to neighboring Bangladesh and other countries.

This came at a joint statement of the member countries delivered by the Saudi Charge d’Affaires in New York Councilor Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Atiq during a non-official referral presented by the UN special envoy to Myanmar Nolin Herz.

Al-Atiq said that the member states of OIC are closely following what is going in and are deeply concerned of the current disturbing situation.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Jeddah– The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud chaired the Cabinet’s session held on Tuesday afternoon at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah.

At the outset of the session, the Cabinet thanked Allah Almighty for enabling the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to work with the highest levels of responsibility in confronting the Coronavirus pandemic and mitigating its effects, which yielded positive results in all aspects of life, including lifting the precautionary and preventive measures related to the pandemic based on the progress in the national vaccination program and the high rates of immunization and immunity against the virus in the community.

The Cabinet then reviewed the content of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s meetings with a number of countries, with the aim of strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation in a manner that contributes to advancing relations and supporting all that establish security, stability and prosperity in the region and the world.

In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Minister of State, Cabinet’s Member for the affairs of Shura Council and Acting Minister of Media Dr. Essam bin Saad bin Saeed said that the Cabinet considered Saudi Arabia’s grant of USD 30 million to support the Afghanistan Humanitarian Trust Fund (AHTF) a continuation of the recent Saudi relief efforts provided to the Afghan people and its support over the past decades to several development projects in Afghanistan with a cost exceeding SAR 1 billion.

The Cabinet was briefed on a number of issues on its agenda and issued the following decisions:

First:

Authorizing the Minister of Energy – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Jordanian side regarding a draft cooperation agreement between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the energy field, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures.

Second:

Approving a memorandum of understanding between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Iraq on the electric connection.

Third:

Authorizing the Minister of Foreign Affairs – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Senegalese side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding on political consultations between the foreign ministries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Senegal, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures.

Fourth:

Approving a memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Post of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt Post of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Fifth:

Authorizing the Minister of Human Resources and Social Development, Chairman of the Institute of Public Administration – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Egyptian side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Institute of Public Administration in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Council State in the Arab Republic of Egypt in the legal field, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures.

Sixth:

Approving a cooperation agreement between the governments of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Greece in the marine transport field.

Seventh:

Authorizing Chairman of the Saudi Space Commission – or a deputy – to hold talks with the Egyptian side regarding a draft memorandum of understanding between the Saudi Space Commission and the Egyptian Space Agency in the field of space activities for peaceful purposes, sign it and refer the final signed copy to proceed with formal procedures.

Eighth:

Approving organizational arrangements for the Strategic Bureau to Develop Jazan Region and organizational arrangements for the Strategic Bureau to Develop Al-Jouf Region.

Ninth:

Approving the regulation of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy.

Tenth:

Approving organizational arrangements for the national committee of incentives concerned with organizing incentives that are offered to investment projects.

Eleventh:

Amending the civil pension bylaw issued under Royal Decree No. (M/41) on 29/7/1393 Hijri and the social security bylaw issued under Royal Decree No. (M/33) on 3/9/1421 Hijri and a bylaw on the exchange of benefits between the bylaws of civil and military pensions and the social security bylaw issued under the Royal Decree No. (M/53) on 23/7/1424 Hijri (related to the entitlement of employees to allowance or a pension) as per the decision.

Twelfth:

Approving financial equivalent regulation for licensing to use frequencies.

Thirteenth:

Renewing the membership of Dr. Abdulaziz bin Obeid Al-Kaabi and appointing Dr. Saleh bin Islamil Al-Qaissi, and Eng. Mazen bin Ahmad Al-Khayyat at the board of directors of the Saudi Geological Survey.

Fourteenth:

Approving two appointments and promotions to the (fourteenth and fifteenth) ranks.

The Cabinet also reviewed a number of general topics on its agenda and took the necessary measures regarding these topics.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Colombo– Sri Lanka has approved a four-day work week for public sector workers to help them cope with a chronic fuel shortage and encourage them to grow food, the government said on Tuesday according to Reuters.

The island nation, which employs about one million people in its public sector, has been hit by a severe foreign exchange shortage, which has left it struggling to pay for critical imports of fuel, food and medicine.

Many of the country’s 22 million people have to queue up at petrol stations for hours and have been enduring long power cuts for months.

Sri Lanka’s Cabinet late on Monday approved a proposal for public sector workers to be given leave every Friday for the next three months, partly because the fuel shortage made commuting difficult and also to encourage them to farm.

The United Nations last week warned of a looming humanitarian crisis and it plans to provide $47 million to help more than a million vulnerable people.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Socotra, Yemen– The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Porgram for Yemen (SDRPY) has launched four security projects in Socotra Governorate, which are part of projects to support the Yemeni government capacity to increase the efficiency of government institutions in Socotra and various Yemeni governorates and to contribute to enhancing peace and security for the Yemeni society.

The launch of the projects was in the presence of Undersecretary of the governorate Brigadier General Saleh Al-Socatri, SDRPY Office Director in Socotra Eng. Tareq Al-Zaydi and several directors and security leaders in the governorate.

The four centers included establishing the Qalansia Police Center that benefits 18,580 individuals, Momi Police Center that benefits 17,980 individuals and the police center that benefits 18,580 individuals and Juwa Center that benefits 17,998 individuals.

Al-Socatri commended the development role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through SDRPY and the continuous support through establishing development and service projects for residents of the governorate, including projects to enhance Yemeni government capacity and other projects in the educational, health, water, energy, transport, agriculture, fishery sectors and other development programs, expressing his happiness for launching the security center that will play a big role in enhancing security and stability in the governorate.

These projects will contribute to improving the infrastructure of government facilities and building the capacity of government institutions and enhancing security and stability.

These projects are part of 207 development projects and initiatives that SDRPY implemented in various Yemeni governorates to serve Yemenis in seven main sectors: education, health, water, energy, transport, agriculture and fishery and building the capacity of government institutions and development programs.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Valparaiso, Chile– Dr. Ibrahim bin Mahmoud Al-Nahas, Chairman of the Saudi Chilian Parliamentary Friendship Committee, affiliated to the Shura Council of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, paid an official visit to Chile at an invitation of the Chilian parliament.

During the visit, the Shura delegation held a number of meetings with Chilian senior officials including Speaker of the Chilian Senate Senator Alvaro Elisadi Soto; Speaker of the House of Representatives Raol Soto Mardonez; Deputy Foreign Minister Khimina Fointes and a number of representatives of giant companies and chambers.

During the meetings, ways to enhance bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields at all levels.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Geneva– The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has called on the international community to bear its responsibility towards the Palestinian issue, stressing its continuous support to the Palestinian people and efforts seeking to establish an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital according to international resolutions and the Arab peace initiative.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia representative in Geneva Dr. Abdulaziz Al-Wasel delivered a speech before the Human Rights Council, during discussions on a report of the international committee to investigate violations in the occupied Palestinian territories, during which he said: “The reports of UN constantly document the suffering of Palestinians and the clear violations that the occupation commits against them,” calling for combating any Israeli attempt to instill discrimination against Palestinians, abolish their national identity, continue building settlements, use of force, demolish houses, adopt the closure policies that hindered the movement of Palestinians to reach several services such as health and education.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– Minister of Health Fahd bin Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel has met Mauritanian Minister of Health Moktar Ould Dahi.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed a number of issues of common interest and ways to enhance health cooperation in training and capacity-building in the required specialties. They also went over the possibility of enabling the Mauritanian Ministry of Health to benefit from the experience of the virtual hospital and its services.

Following the meeting, the Mauritanian minister toured “Seha” Virtual Hospital, Command and Control Center, and King Fahad Medical City, and listened to a detailed presentation on the services they provide.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

Riyadh– The Tourism Development Fund (TDF) today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Melia Hotels International, one of the world’s leading hotel groups in leisure segment.

The MoU was signed at TDF’s headquarters in Riyadh by Qusai Al-Fakhri, CEO of the Tourism Development Fund, and Gabriel Escarrer, CEO and Vice Chairman of Melia Hotels International.

TDF and Melia Hotels International will bring new tourism concepts focused on Leisure, F&B and Entertainment to three key destinations under the National Tourism Strategy – Riyadh, Jeddah, and the Eastern Province. By enhancing the tourism and entertainment offerings within these areas earmarked for development, TDF contributes towards the objectives of the National Tourism Strategy while improving the quality of life for residents and tourists alike.

Furthermore, the MoU is line with the Fund’s focus on diversifying investments within the Kingdom by launching hotel projects in compliance with the highest international industry standards.

Qusai Al-Fakhri, CEO of TDF, said: “The MoU with Melia Hotels International is an extension of our ongoing efforts to drive tourism development in the Kingdom in line with both the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Tourism Strategy.”

“Here at TDF, we always strive for sector growth and prosperity through MoUs and partnerships that will provide outstanding experiences and services, ultimately enhancing the Kingdom’s overall tourism value proposition. This latest collaboration with Melia Hotels International is a step towards the Kingdom’s transformation into a leading tourism destination globally.”

Gabriel Escarrer, CEO and Vice Chairman of Melia Hotels International, said: “Saudi Arabia’s natural and geographic diversity offers promising opportunities to develop high-quality hospitality projects. In that respect, we are pleased to establish this MoU with the Tourism Development Fund and look forward to playing a role in the achievement of the ambitious objectives of Saudi Vision 2030. We are committed to developing these three projects according to the highest international standards and in line with the Kingdom’s distinct identity on the world stage.”

Through the MoU, TDF and Melia Hotels International will develop high-quality tourism destinations, with a total project value of more than SAR 1 billion (USD 266.5 million) for all the three destinations.

Source: Saudi Press Agency