Abdul Aziz Al-Wassel

:: Saudi Ambassador to the UN Abdul Aziz Al-Wassel said that the Kingdom has attached great importance to the refugees and their suffering all around the world, and has led an effective role in this field through all the support and assistance it has provided in accordance with its moral and religious principles.

Al-Wassel clarified that the Kingdom is supporting the UNHCR in many regions around the world. In addition, the Kingdom has received over 291,000 Syrian refugees and considers them residents, providing them with health care and educational services, enrolling 114,000 refugees in governmental schools, in addition to allowing them to enter the labor market. Moreover, Syrian refugees are provided with adequate living conditions and are granted legal residence permits, he added.

Concerning the Yemeni people, the Kingdom has received over 603,833 Yemenis and enrolled 285,000 Yemenis in governmental schools, he said.

He said that the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) has implemented over 153 projects to help Yemenis: 59 food security and shelter projects, 18 education, protection and early recovery programs, 66 nutrition, water and environmental sanitation projects, and 10 emergency communication and logistic projects. The cost of these projects has reached $629 million, while overall aid to Yemen from the Kingdom reached $8 billion.

Al-Wassel said: “Saudi Arabia attaches great importance to the Rohingya refugees. KSRelief, upon directives from King Salman, has been actively engaged to allocate $15 million for the Rohingya people fleeing Myanmar. The center also visited the Rohingya camps in Bangladesh accommodating over 100,000 thousand refugees in coordination with Bangladeshi government bodies and the International Organization for Migration.”

Al-Wassel indicated that the cooperation between the Kingdom and UN organizations dealing with refugees is permanent. “The Kingdom is looking forward to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ expected visit to the Kingdom next week to meet with officials, which will promote cooperation between the two sides for the protection and care of refugees around the world,” he added.