Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Interior, who leads the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's delegation to the71st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, confirmed today that the Kingdom's handling of the issue of refugees which is a result of ethnic conflicts, wars, disasters and struggle is based on the principles and instructions of Islamic religion which calls for peace.
This came in a speech the Crown Prince delivers at the UN summit on refugees and immigrants which was held at the headquarters of the United Nations general assembly in New York with the participations of heads of state and governments and senior officials of member states of the general assembly.
In his speech, the Crown Prince congratulated the president on the successful completion of his tenure, wishing the new president every success.
He said the refugees crisis which is generated from racial disputes, wars, and catastrophes requires that we unify our efforts to deal with it with the utmost responsibility to reduce its negative impacts on humanity.
In this regard, the Kingdom handles this issue according to the principles of Islam which calls for peace and is keen to assist the needy at any time, he said adding that, in continuation of its humanitarian role in this field, the Kingdom was, since its foundation by late King Abdulaziz, keen to lay the bases of humanitarian work that enabled it to occupy today the third world rank in terms of the size of relief, humanitarian and developmental aid whereas the assistance provided by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the last four decades amounted to some $139 billion.
Keen to create a one window for giving out the Kingdom's relief and humanitarian efforts, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered the establishment of King Salman bin Center for Relief and Humanitarian Works to reflect the bright humanitarian role of the Kingdom worldwide, Crown Prince told the summit.
He added that, since the eruption of the crisis in Syria, the Kingdom was among the leading countries who provided support for the Syrian people to alleviate their sufferings whereas it welcomed nearly two and a half million Syrians and was keen not to treat them as refugees or put them in refugee camps but offered them labor market access in addition to the provision of free medical and educational care and services. In this regard, the number of Syrian students in Saudi Arabia reached 141,000 who enjoy free education. This is in addition to the assistance provided by the Kingdom for Syrian refugees in neighboring countries, he added.
On the other hand, the Kingdom considered Yemenis who took refuge in the Kingdom as visitors, providing them with the necessary facilities, including freedom of movement, work and inviting their families to join them. At the moment, the number of Yemeni students who receive free education in the Kingdom reached 285,000 while the assistance provided by the Kingdom to Yemeni refugees based in Djibouti and Somalia has recently amounted to more than $42 million. To meet the humanitarian and relief needs of the sisterly Yemeni people, the Kingdom has donated about $500 million, he stated.
He said that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes that the first and basic step to deal with such crises is to intensify the efforts to solve the current conflicts in the world according to the UN charter through utilizing pre-emptive diplomacy to thwart aggravation of crises and their transforming into armed conflicts that would generate humanitarian crises and disasters.
The Crown Prince said that the Kingdom would spare no effort to continue work with international organizations and countries who believe in collective and cooperative work for the sake of achieving international peace and security and whatever provides good for humanity.
The Kingdom is also continuing to play its humanitarian, political and economical roles with the utmost sense of responsibility and moderation and keenness on justice, the firm pillars of our country's international work.
The summit was also attended by Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Naif bin Abdulaziz, advisor to the minister of interior.
