ReliefWeb

RIAYDH, SAUDI ARABIA: On 16 March 2022, Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) represented the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia virtually at the 2022 Yemen High-Level Pledging Event that was held in Geneva, Switzerland. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” he explained during his remarks, “has always supported the Yemeni people. Over the past few years, it has provided humanitarian aid to Yemen amounting to more than USD 19.3 billion”, USD four billion of this amount, he added, was provided on behalf of the Kingdom through KSrelief’s programs and other assistance.

The high-level pledging event was co-hosted by the United Nations and the governments of Sweden and Switzerland. Among the attendees, some of whom participated virtually and others in person, included Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ignazio Cassis, President of Switzerland and Head of the country’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Ann Linde, Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Martin Griffith, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and Ambassador Dr. Abdulaziz Al Wasel, Saudi Arabia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva.

Dr. Al Rabeeah expressed the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s thanks and deep appreciation to the Republic of Switzerland, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the United Nations for organizing the pledging conference, and expressed his sincere hopes that the event would raise sufficient funds to alleviate the suffering of all Yemenis in need. He emphasized the serious humanitarian consequences of the major escalation of illegal actions by Iranian-backed Houthi militias in the country, actions which have led to a significant worsening of the plight of the Yemeni people.

“In addition to committing terrorist acts against their own people,” he said, “the militias have gone far beyond that to escalate their terrorist activities to threaten neighboring countries.” Dr. Al Rabeeah stressed the immediate need for the international community to work together to protect the Yemeni people and achieve security and stability in the country. The Kingdom, he explained, appreciates the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2624 (2022), classifying the Houthi militias as a “terrorist group”, and affirms its keenness to achieve security and stability in Yemen and in the region. Saudi Arabia supports “all efforts to reach a sustainable political solution in Yemen according to the three references in a manner that guarantees the preservation of the unity and safety of Yemen and its people.”

KSrelief and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Al Rabeeah concluded, would continue to protect the Yemeni people and provide ongoing, impartial relief and humanitarian aid programs assist all in need in cooperation with UN, international and local partners.