Saudi Arabia reaffirms support for Palestinian refugees

November 11, 2016

United Nations, Nov 11: Saudi Arabia has reaffirmed its continued support for the Palestinian refugees and UNRWA, the UN body that looks after their welfare.

riyadh

The Kingdom's reassurance came during a speech delivered by its permanent representative at the United Nations, Abdullah Al-Muallimi, at an UNRWA committee meeting

“The Kingdom is honored to stand by the side of the Palestinian people stemming from its religious and humanitarian duty until the Palestinians achieve their legitimate right to live in freedom, dignity and have access to all their legitimate and inalienable rights. In this domain, the Kingdom highly appreciates the fundamental role of the UNRWA’s humanitarian care for more than 5 million Palestinians,” Al-Muallimi said.

He said Saudi Arabia continued to top the list of major donors to UNRWA, alongside the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom. This year, the Kingdom has contributed some $100 million.

The Kingdom has been an active member of the UNRWA Advisory Commission since 2005 and provides advice and assistance to the commissioner general in the scope of implementation of his mandate.

He said the Kingdom made a donation of $59 million through the Saudi Development Fund to UNRWA for the education, health and housing projects to be implemented in Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.

The donation was made through three agreements signed in London on Feb. 4. The first agreement worth more than $40 million will go to support the ongoing projects in Gaza, including more than 600 houses for Palestinians who had their homes destroyed during the Israeli assault on Gaza, along with maintenance of three schools. The second agreement worth $8 million will go to finance the maintenance of nine UNRWA schools and 10 health centers in Jordan. While the third agreement worth more than $7 million will provide funding for rebuilding, equipping and furnishing of three health centers in the West Bank, said the ambassador.

Al-Muallimi said Saudi Arabia has donated $10 million through the Saudi Development Fund to build a larger base and supply depot in Rafah. This will serve as the main UNRWA warehouse for storing basic food and non-food items, and also to support the distribution operations through 12 distribution centers throughout the Gaza Strip, he added.

“This project is part of a comprehensive project signed between UNRWA and the Saudi Development Fund in May 2015 to rebuild and renovate residential units and supply warehouses, and to support the health and education sectors in the Gaza Strip with a total value estimated at $62 million. Construction of the supply depot is expected to be completed in 2017 and will be operational with a crew of about 200 people, including UNRWA staff members and persons who will work on job-creation issues.”

Saudi Arabia also contributed approximately $2 million to build a health center in Aqabat Jaber Camp located in the Jordan Valley to meet the necessary health needs of Palestinian refugees in the camp within a safe environment. This center was opened on Oct. 28, and will benefit more than 14,000 camp residents, said the ambassador.

He said: “We stress our full support for UNRWA’s humanitarian goals and to continue its work to alleviate the tragedy of the Palestinian people and reduce their suffering until the return of the displaced to their home country, and give them the necessary compensations for the extensive damage they suffered during the past decades in accordance with Resolution 194 of the General Assembly.”

“We therefore support the efforts to address the root causes of this crisis and stop the forced and chronic displacement of the refugees through ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and the rest of the Arab lands, and that Israel withdraws to the 1967 borders, and makes progress toward implementing the two-state solution,” Al-Muallimi added.

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naren kotian
 - 
Friday, 11 Nov 2016

we support israel , long live israel ... temple mount jindabad ... hahaha....

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KT
June 30,2020

Dubai, Jun 30: The UAE Embassy in India on Tuesday urged expats stranded in India to procure travel approvals from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICA) in the UAE ahead of their travel to the UAE.

It has also assured UAE residence visa holders that a no-objection letter to travel would be issued on a humanitarian basis, as long as the resident meets all conditions set by the government of UAE.

The UAE Embassy in New Delhi tweeted Tuesday morning, "The @UAEembassyIndia would like to draw the attention of the valid UAE residence permit holders currently present in India, to the necessity of obtaining necessary approval from the @ICAUAE while ensuring that all conditions set by the UAE competent authorities are observed."

It added, "Please note that UAE will issue no objection letter to travel in some humanitarian cases only that meet all conditions and requirements."

The embassy also affirmed its commitment to the decisions of the Indian authorities regarding the continued closure of airports in India, and implementation of some restrictions that do not allow foreign airlines to carry passengers.

"We express our thank for your cooperation and your understanding of the current global situation, and in case there is any developments in this regard, we will publish it on the official platforms of embassy (sic)," the Embassy tweeted.

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News Network
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: A heart-broken father who lost his 19-year-old son in a tragic car accident during Christmas last year has sponsored the repatriation costs of 61 Indians stranded in the UAE.

 The special flydubai repatriation flight, chartered by the All Kerala Colleges Alumni Federation (Akcaf) volunteer group, of which he is a member of, departed from Dubai to Kochi on July 25 carrying 199 passengers.

 On this particular flight, I sponsored 55 air tickets," said TN Krishnakumar, a sales and marketing director. He had lost his son Rohit Krishnakumar in a car accident, which also claimed the life of the teen's friend, Sharat Kumar (21).

"All passengers who were registered with the Indian missions were also asked to register on the Akcaf volunteer group website. Each passenger was further vetted, after which we made home visits to ensure that all the applicants were genuinely in need of financial support and repatriation," he said.

Commenting on what inspired him to dedicate himself to community work, Krishankumar said: "When a situation like this comes up, you realise there is no meaning in money. I invested everything I made into my son, and that had crashed in front of my eyes. He was a third-year medical student at the University of Manchester in the UK and had returned home for a vacation when the accident took place. Since then, I have been involved in a lot of social activities. If I do not do this, there is no meaning to my existence."

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, Krishnakumar said the group has supported thousands of individuals in need of help. "We supported unemployed people with several hundred bags of grocery kits and other necessary items. We also supported Covid-19 patients by transferring them to the medical facility in Warsan, etc.," he said.

"I come from a very middle-class family. I got a scholarship to study in college, and I studied with the help of taxpayers' money. I have always wanted to give back to society. I have grown immensely in life and now is my time to give back.," he added.

Krishnakumar also sponsors the education of over 1,000 academically gifted school children in Kerala's government-aided schools. He is a life trustee at the College of Engineering Trivandrum Alumni Galaxy Charitable Trust and an active participant towards various educational causes.

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Agencies
March 15,2020

Riyadh, Mar 15: Saudi Aramco on Sunday reported a 20.6 percent drop in its net profit for 2019 due to low oil prices and production levels, the company said in a statement.

These are the first annual results to be announced by the energy giant after its historical $29.4 billion initial public offering and listing on the Saudi Tadawul market last December.

Aramco posted net profits of $88.2 billion last year compared to $111.1 billion in 2018, Monday's statement said.

"The decrease was primarily due to lower crude oil prices and production volumes, coupled with declining refining and chemical margins," it said.

The company also made $1.6 billion of impairment provisions for losses associated with Sadara Chemical Company, an Aramco subsidiary.

"2019 was an exceptional year for Saudi Aramco. Through a variety of circumstances -- some planned and some not -- the world was offered unprecedented insight into Saudi Aramco's agility and resilience," CEO Amin Nasser said.

"Our unique scale, low costs, and resilience came together to deliver both growth and world-leading returns, while also maintaining our position as one of the world's most reliable energy companies," Nasser said.

The earnings for last year are not affected by the coronavirus outbreak or the ongoing price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has sent oil prices crashing.

Aramco said it will distribute dividends worth $73.2 billion for 2019 but based on its commitments under the IPO, its dividends for the next five years starting this year will be at least $75 billion.

It said its capital spending last year dropped to $32.8 billion from $35.1 billion in 2018.

The company expects capital spending, which is expenditure on projects, to be between $25 billion and $30 billion this year "in light of current market conditions and recent commodity price volatility."

But it said that capital expenditure for 2021 and beyond is currently under review.

The results were announced amid a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia after they failed to agree on additional output cuts to support prices dented by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The recent COVID-19 outbreak and its rapid spread illustrate the importance of agility and adaptability in an ever-changing global landscape," Nasser said.

The kingdom said last week Aramco will pump 12.3 million barrels of oil per day, boosting output by at least 2.5 million bpd.

It also announced plans to raise production capacity from 12 million bpd to 13 million bpd.

Forecasts for future crude prices and demand are also bleak.

In its latest monthly report, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries lowered its forecast for global average daily demand by 0.92 million barrels to 99.73 million barrels.

Saudi Arabia is also in the midst of a royal purge that saw King Salman's brother and nephew detained after sources said they were accused of plotting a palace coup to unseat the crown prince, heir to the Saudi throne.

Aramco shares rallied immediately after the listing on December 11, rising by 19 percent to 38 riyals ($10.1) and temporarily lifting the company's valuation above the $2 trillion mark, which was sought by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler.

But as oil prices tumble, Aramco shares have lost 29 percent from its highest point, slipping below the listing price.

On Thursday, Aramco's market value dropped to around $1.55 trillion, but it still remains the world's largest publicly listed company.

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