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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News Network
May 11,2020

May 11: Saudi Arabia will triple its value-added tax rate and suspend a cost of living allowance for state workers, it said on Monday, seeking to shield finances hit by low oil prices and a slump in demand for its lifeline export worsened by the new coronavirus.

Historic oil output cuts agreed by Riyadh and other major producers have given only limited support to prices after they sank on oversupply caused by a war for petroleum market share between the kingdom and its fellow oil titan Russia.

Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is also being hit hard by measures to fight the new coronavirus, which are likely to curb the pace and scale of economic reforms launched by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"The cost of living allowance will be suspended as of June 1, and the value added tax will be increased to 15% from 5% as of July 1," Finance Minister Mohammed al-Jadaan said in a statement reported by the state news agency. "These measures are painful but necessary to maintain financial and economic stability over the medium to long term...and to overcome the unprecedented coronavirus crisis with the least damage possible."

The austerity measures come after the kingdom posted a $9 billion budget deficit in the first quarter.

The minister said non-oil revenues were affected by the suspension and decline in economic activity, while spending had risen due to unplanned strains on the healthcare sector and the initiatives taken to support the economy.

"All these challenges have cut state revenues, pressured public finances to a level that is hard to deal with going forward without affecting the overall economy in the medium to long term, which requires more spending cuts and measures to support non-oil revenues stability," he added.

The government has cancelled and put on hold some operating and capital expenditures for some government agencies, and cut allocations for some reform initiatives and projects worth a total 100 billion riyals ($26.6 billion), the statement said.

Central bank foreign reserves fell in March at their fastest rate in at least 20 years and to their lowest since 2011, while oil revenues in the first three months of the year fell 24% from a year earlier to $34 billion, pulling total revenues down 22%.

"The reforms are positive from a fiscal side as greater adjustment is essential. However, the tripling of VAT is unlikely to help that much in 2020 revenue wise with the expected fall in consumption," said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

She said she kept unchanged her deficit forecast of 16.3% of GDP for this year, which already factors in a greater than previously announced spending cut.

About 1.5 million Saudis are employed in the government sector, according to official figures released in December.

In 2018, Saudi Arabia's King Salman ordered a monthly payment of 1,000 riyals ($267) to every state employee to compensate them for the rising living costs after the government hiked domestic gas prices and introduced value-added tax.

DIFFICULT TIMES

A committee has been formed to study all financial benefits paid to public sector employees and contractors, and will submit recommendations within 30 days, the statement said.

In late 2015, when oil prices fell from record highs, the kingdom slashed lavish bonuses, overtime payments and other benefits once considered routine perks in the public sector.

In a country without elections and with political legitimacy resting partly on distribution of oil revenue, the ability of citizens to adapt to such reforms is crucial for stability.

"Tripling the VAT will test the limits of the balance between revenues and consumption as the economy dives into a deep recession. The move will impact consumption and could also lower the expected revenues," said John Sfakianakis, a Gulf expert at the University of Cambridge.

"These are pro-austerity and pro-revenue moves rather than pro-growth ones," he said.

Hasnain Malik, head of equity strategy at Tellimer, said the VAT rise could bring about $24-$26.5 billion in additional non-oil fiscal revenue. The rise would hit consumer spending further but was a needed step towards fiscal sustainability, he said.

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Agencies
January 4,2020

Baghdad, Jan 4: At least five people were killed on Saturday by an airstrike on a vehicle convoy of Iraq's Shia Popular Mobilization Forces in northern Baghdad, a source in security forces told Sputnik.

Earlier in the day, the source told Sputnik about a powerful explosion in Baghdad's northern district of Taji.

"A vehicle convoy of the Popular Mobilization Forces has been attacked. According to preliminary data, five people have died. Their names have not been clarified so far," the source said.

On Friday, several senior members of the Popular Mobilization Forces, as well as commander of the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps Qasem Soleimani, were killed by a US drone attack near the Baghdad International Airport.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kuwait will allow citizens and residents to travel to and from the country, starting August 1, the government communication center tweeted on early Thursday, citing a cabinet decision.

The decision excludes residents coming from Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran, Nepal.

Last month, Kuwait announced it would partially resume commercial flights from August, but does not expect to reach full capacity until a year later, as its aviation sector gradually recovers from a suspension sparked by the Covid-19 crisis.

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