RIYADH: Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, second deputy premier and minister of defense, and Ursula von der Leyen, German defense minister, held talks here Thursday.
They agreed to boost defense cooperation between the two countries, especially in the “training sector,” and make contributions to regional peace.
The talks also focused on key regional issues and challenges confronting the Middle East.
“The talks between Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed and the German minister focused on ways and means to beef up Saudi-German cooperation in different areas including high-level exchanges, personnel education and training, defense, mutual visits and security affairs,” said Michael Ohnmacht, deputy chief of the mission at the German Embassy, here on Thursday.
Ohnmacht said that “a draft agreement for training Saudi military officers in Germany is ready to be signed soon.” He said that the two sides would “enhance” military cooperation and work closely to make strong ties a key aspect of bilateral relations.
Asked about specific issues that figured during the talks with the deputy crown prince, the German diplomat said that “bilateral relations and regional issues with special reference to training of Saudi military officials and counter-terrorism efforts topped the agenda of the talks.”
Von der Leyen, who is the latest German official to visit Saudi Arabia this year, also paid a visit to the Riyadh-based headquarters of the 39-nation Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT). The German minister, on arrival at IMAFT, was met by top personnel and was briefed about the operation. The Islamic Military Alliance was set up on the initiative of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed in December last year.
The German defense minister, who belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union, which governs in coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD), had a meeting with Mohammed Al-Tuwaijri, deputy minister of economy and planning. Al-Tuwaijri briefed the minister about Vision 2030, which calls for promoting partnerships with allies for peace, security and development.
Germany has taken over the presidency of the Group of 20 (G-20). Saudi Arabia is also a member of G-20, and hence there will be ample opportunities for both countries to work within the framework of the G-20 during the German presidency. Germany took over the presidency of the G-20 on Dec. 2 as Merkel reaffirmed that she plans to use this opportunity to challenge the zeal of protectionism pushed forth by the change of administration in the United States.
During her stay in Riyadh, Von der Leyen also visited the MiSK Foundation, where she was met by young men and women.
The Kingdom and Germany are close allies at regional and international levels. Germany has had a high-tech prosperous defense industry. German exports to different countries include tanks, guns, patrol boats, all-terrain vehicles, aerial refueling equipment, drones, and parts for combat aircraft and armored vehicles, according to the German news agency DPA.
Home defense industry
Meanwhile, the head of a major military development firm said Thursday that Saudi Arabia is striving to develop a homegrown defense industry but cutting reliance on foreign equipment will take years.
The Kingdom is the world’s third-biggest defense spender, but only 2 percent of that outlay is local.
Riyadh targets 50 percent domestic defense content by 2030, under a wide-ranging vision to diversify the oil-dependent economy.
“It’s going to take some time to put it into practice. You’re talking about a few years down the road,” Mohamed Al-Mady, governor of the Kingdom’s Military Industries Corporation, told Agence France Presse when asked how soon products could be available.
It is too early to say what type of gear the Kingdom could manufacture because a “final strategy” is still being developed, he said.
“Then we will know exactly which sectors” will be the focus, Al-Mady said on the sidelines of the Asbar World Forum in Riyadh.
The Saudi defense industry currently consists of just seven companies and two research and development centers.
It has already begun developing spare parts, armored vehicles and ammunition but will expand “to higher value and more complex equipment such as military aircraft,” according to the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.
With the strategy still evolving, Al-Mady could not say whether aircraft production was a realistic goal.
Saudi Arabia has traditionally bought its arms from the United States, Britain and France.
“We visited a number of countries around the world to learn from their experience” in defense manufacturing, Al-Mady told the forum, specifically citing South Korea and Turkey.
“We need all types of products that we brought from outside,” said the former vice chairman and CEO of Saudi petrochemicals giant SABIC. “We have to manufacture them locally.”
— With input from Agence France Presse
Saudi military officers to receive training in Germany
Saudi military officers to receive training in Germany
Saudi-European talks to strengthen cooperation in environmental fields
- Saudi minister of state discussed with EU security and political officials strengthening existing work on dealing with climate change
RIYADH: Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir met with European officials on Sunday in Riyadh, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Al-Jubeir, who is also the Saudi climate envoy, held talks with Delphine Pronk, the Chair of the EU Political and Security Committee, and Luigi Di Maio, the EU Special Representative for the Gulf region.
They discussed issues surrounding climate change and the cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the EU in environmental fields, SPA added.
They discussed ways to strengthen their existing cooperation on tackling climate change and the recent development in foreign policy in Europe and the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia maintains a strong dialogue with the EU, and both parties share close views on several foreign policy issues, including the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative for the Middle East, which aims to create a prosperous region for all its people and end the cycle of conflict.
The EU and Saudi Arabia are also linked through trade relations, which made the EU the Kingdom's second trading partner after the volume of trade exchange between Riyadh and Brussels peaked at $80 billion in 2023.
Saudi FM arrives in Italy to attend G7 ministerial meeting
RIYADH: Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Italy on Sunday to participate in an expanded ministerial meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries in Fiuggi, Saudi Press Agency reported.
The meeting will discuss the current situation in the Middle East, SPA added.
During his stay in Fiuggi, Prince Faisal will hold a number of discussions that will address regional and international issues.
Saudi fund chief receives Tajikistan’s deputy prime minister
- Saudi Ambassador to Tajikistan Walid Al-Rashidan was among the officials in attendance
RIYADH: CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development Sultan Al-Marshad received First Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan Hokim Kholiqzoda and his accompanying delegation in Riyadh on Sunday.
During the meeting, the Saudi fund’s development projects were discussed, as well as ways to enhance development cooperation between both sides, the official account wrote on X.
Saudi Ambassador to Tajikistan Walid Al-Rashidan was among the officials in attendance.
Kholiqzoda’s visit included a tour of the Saudi fund’s exhibition center, which showcases the organization’s 50-year journey, including notable development projects and their impacts on the lives of beneficiaries.
World’s first International Conference on Conjoined Twins kicks off in Riyadh
- Top World Health Organization official commends Saudi Arabia’s efforts in the field
RIYADH: The inaugural International Conference on Conjoined Twins kicked off in Riyadh on Sunday.
The event unites leading medical experts, humanitarian organizations, and families from around the globe to share vital insights, discuss innovative separation techniques, and forge collaborative pathways in the pursuit of improved lives for conjoined twins.
Riyadh Gov. Prince Faisal bin Bandar delivered a speech on behalf of King Salman celebrating the achievements of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, which has become a global leader in the field.
“Since 1990, 143 cases of twins from 26 countries have been reviewed by my dear colleagues, who have successfully separated a total of 61 pairs of twins to date,” he said.
Prince Faisal added that it is the only program globally specializing in separating conjoined twins, making it one of the largest humanitarian medical programs in the world.
He also highlighted a recent milestone: the UN General Assembly is considering an initiative by Saudi Arabia to designate Nov. 24 as the annual World Conjoined Twins Day.
In a video address, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, congratulated Saudi Arabia on its leadership in organizing the conference.
“I commend Saudi Arabia for its leadership in organizing this important World Conjoined Twins Day Conference,” he said.
This recognition would honor the medical and humanitarian efforts in this field and highlight the challenges faced by conjoined twins and their families.
Ghebreyesus praised the initiative as a model for global collaboration in rare and complex medical cases.
“The conference provides critical insights, from surgical innovations to long-term strategies, shaping rare initiatives. A broader platform and registry for congenital anomalies would benefit low and middle-income countries,” he said.
A keynote address was delivered by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, advisor to the Royal Court and supervisor-general of Saudi aid agency KSrelief.
As the head of the multidisciplinary team for the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, Al-Rabeeah provided insights into the occurrence and challenges associated with conjoined twins.
The history of conjoined twin separation reveals both the challenges and progress in medical science.
“The first successful separation was by Johannes Fatio back in 1689 by using a constricting band for a set of Omphalopagus twins or those sharing liver and gastrointestinal organs,” he said.
With a 0.5 percent incidence rate, this early success involved “presumably, a small joining in the skin, probably a little bit of the liver,” said Al-Rabeeah.
He added that a major breakthrough came in 1957 with the first successful separation of Craniopagus, or twins sharing one brain.
Al-Rabeeah said that the epidemiology shows distinct patterns: “In Western countries, it’s been estimated that we get one conjoined twins in every 50 to 200,000 births.”
He added that, however, it is more prevalent in Southeast Asia and Africa, “presumably because identical twinning and twinning is (found) more in dark-skinned people in Africa and also in Southeast Asia, increasing the incidence.”
The survival statistics, Al-Rabeeah reported, entail that “60 percent of conjoined twins are stillborn, and those who live 40 percent of them will die in the first few days of life, and 70 percent of those who would survive will be females.”
He emphasized that the reasons behind this regional disparity remain unknown and require further research.
Throughout the conference, leading medical professionals presented their expertise on various aspects of caring for and separating conjoined twins. Topics included embryology, multidisciplinary team-building, antenatal care, and labor management.
Dr. Nadia Al-Ghilan, from the maternal-fetal medicine department at King Abdulaziz Medical City, gave a presentation titled “Caring for Conjoined Twins: A Prenatal Journey,” describing the complex process of managing pregnancies involving conjoined twins.
She said that caring for conjoined twins is a complex and delicate process as it requires meticulous prenatal planning and a dedicated medical team.
Al-Ghilan said that “this journey is filled with unique challenges, ethical considerations, and the utmost care to ensure the best possible outcomes for the twins and their family.”
Early diagnosis, she stressed, is critical for effective prenatal referral, counseling, and planning for delivery and postnatal care.
Al-Ghilan also underscored the importance of genetic testing in understanding the chromosomal health of conjoined twins.
“Techniques like amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling can help identify genetic abnormalities, providing valuable information for developing treatment strategies.”
The conference not only serves as a platform for scientific exchange but also fosters dialogue on building global partnerships to support conjoined twins and their families, particularly in low and middle income countries. The conference emphasized the importance of comprehensive care, from prenatal counseling to post-separation rehabilitation.
For over 30 years, the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program has stood as a beacon of hope for families worldwide. The inaugural International Conference on Conjoined Twins is set to continue this legacy, inspiring further advancements in the care and treatment of conjoined twins globally.
Doctor describes difficulties in separating twins joined at the skull
- “Conjoined twins are rare, as has been said, but ‘cranomalies’ are extremely rare,” Dr. Felice D’Arco said
RIYADH: A London-based medical expert at a conference in Riyadh revealed the difficulties in separating a rare form of conjoined twins in which the patients are joined at the skull.
Dr. Felice D’Arco, consultant pediatric neurologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, spoke during the International Conference on Conjoined Twins on Sunday about the condition, which occurs in about one of every 2.5 million births worldwide.
“Conjoined twins are rare, as has been said, but ‘cranomalies’ are extremely rare,” he said.
For radiologists, this means there are no standardized CT and MRI scanning protocols in place for such complex cases, and very few recent cases from which to learn.
“We have protocols for everything, epilepsy, tumors, neurogenetic disorders, this is not the case for craniopagus twins because of their rarity,” D’Arco said.
Medical teams must be set in place, and there must be two of everything; two anesthetic teams, two sets of MRI monitoring, etc., the whole hospital staff is involved in what is considered as an operation taking place on two patients simultaneously, D’Arco explained.
While there is a need to standardize procedures, Dr. D’Arco acknowledged that every set of twins is unique.
“As a radiologist, you need to have the flexibility to change your protocol as needed.”
Therefore, he said, it is best to start with a series of questions relating to different critical parts of the body.
One potential issue is the bones. A dual source CT scan can inform radiologists which parts of the skull of each patient is infused, or “missing,” in the other.
Another problem is the relationship between the brains. D’Arco said that small breaches connecting the two brains, identified by 3D sequencing, present a risk that surgery will cause damage.
Considering the possible ethical and medical complications that could come up in cases in which one of the twins is at risk of dying, he said: “Sometimes you need to ask, can we separate without jeopardizing the lives of the children? These cases are complicated, baffling, and confusing.”
