Saudi foreign minister praises China’s support for Gaza ceasefire efforts
Saudi foreign minister praises China’s support for Gaza ceasefire efforts/node/2519836/saudi-arabia
Saudi foreign minister praises China’s support for Gaza ceasefire efforts
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Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attended the China-Arab States Summit in Beijing. (SPA)
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Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan attended the China-Arab States Summit in Beijing along with heads of state from Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Tunisia among others. (SPA)
Saudi foreign minister praises China’s support for Gaza ceasefire efforts
Prince Faisal reiterated calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an uninterrupted flow of aid into the enclave
Updated 30 May 2024
Arab News
BEIJING: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Thursday praised China’s support for efforts to end the war on Gaza and push for the two-state solution.
In his address at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum in Beijing, Prince Faisal reiterated calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an uninterrupted flow of aid into the enclave.
He called for deeper cooperation to establish a reliable and irreversible path to the two-state solution, noting that constant dialogue is crucial for achieving regional peace.
He rejected foreign interference in the Middle East and called for efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction in the region.
China hosted a summit on Thursday focusing on the Israel-Hamas war in which Chinese President Xi Jinping promised more humanitarian aid in Gaza and called for an international peace conference.
The summit, attended by heads of state from Egypt, the UAE, Bahrain and Tunisia among others, was set to address China’s expanding trade ties and security concerns related to the Israel-Hamas war.
MENA over-60s most at risk of NCDs, researchers say ahead of anti-aging conference
Findings were highlighted at an event ahead of the group’s Global Healthspan 2025 summit in Riyadh
Event will bring together an international crowd of academics, scientists and stockholders in the global healthspan space
Updated 23 sec ago
Arab News
RIYADH: The MENA population is most at risk for noncommunicable diseases for those over 60 years, according to research by the Saudi anti-aging organization Hevolution Foundation.
Noncommunicable diseases include cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, which represent up to one-third of the disease burden in the region.
The findings were highlighted at an event ahead of the group’s Global Healthspan 2025 summit in Riyadh, which runs from Feb. 5-6, with more than 70 sessions and in excess of 100 speakers expected.
The event will bring together an international crowd of academics, scientists and stockholders in the global healthspan space, organizers said.
According to research, Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of NCDs in the Gulf, with a prevalence of 32.15 percent responsible for 73 percent of all deaths.
With the number of people over 60 in Saudi Arabia set to double by 2050, the Kingdom is employing cutting-edge research in aging biology.
Boasting more than SR1.5 billion ($400 million) in research grants and early-stage biotech investments, the Riyadh-based organization is a philanthropic funder of geroscience, an area of research dedicated to advancing the human healthspan — extending the age at which a person remains healthy.
The organization says that while the average lifespan in Saudi Arabia is about 74 years, the average healthspan is 64 — indicating a decade-long gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy — and many are living the final years of their lives in poor health.
During the summit, Hevolution will announce the launch of the Saudi Biotech Pitchfest, to showcase the Kingdom’s rapidly growing biotech sector. Twelve Saudi biotech companies, from startups to more established enterprises, will present their innovative solutions aimed at addressing the challenges of aging.
The competition will feature 10-minute pitches, which will be judged by a distinguished panel that includes Prince Khalid bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al-Saud, founder and CEO, KBW Ventures; Abdulrahman Alolayan, CEO of BetaLab; Dr. William Greene, CIO of Hevolution Foundation; and Dr. Christoph Westphal, co-founder of Longwood Fund.
Hevolution will also launch the second round of its grants program in Saudi Arabia, with 14 new awardees for 2025.
This round saw a 20 percent increase in eligible submissions, underscoring the growing interest in the field.
The grantees represent leading institutions across Saudi Arabia, including KAIMRC, Al-Maarefa University, Fakeeh College, University of Tabuk, KAUST, KSU, and Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University.
The foundation also plans to announce a two-year grant program to create the first cohort of age researchers in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia announces new national policy to eliminate forced labor
Osama Ghanem Alobaidy: This policy adopted by the Kingdom will ensure the protection of persons living or working in the Kingdom and create a safe working environment
Sattam Alharbi: It demonstrates our collective commitment to creating a safe environment for everyone living and working in our country, ensuring their rights are protected
Updated 22 January 2025
Lama Alhamawi
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has introduced its National Policy for the Elimination of Forced Labor, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development announced.
“This policy adopted by the Kingdom will ensure the protection of persons living or working in the Kingdom and create a safe working environment,” Osama Ghanem Alobaidy, adviser and professor of law at the Institute of Public Administration in Riyadh, told Arab News.
In 2021, Saudi Arabia, became the first GCC country to ratify the International Labour Organization’s Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, bringing it in line with international standards to eliminate forced labor.
“This shows the Kingdom’s commitment to improve and protect the rights of individuals living or working in the Kingdom,” Alobaidy said.
The newly introduced policy aims to eliminate forced labor through prevention and protection measures.
According to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, it will also strengthen national, regional and international coordination to integrate better efforts to combat forced labor.
Deputy Minister for Control and Development of the Work Environment Sattam Alharbi said: “The introduction of the National Policy for the Elimination of Forced Labor is an important milestone for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“It demonstrates our collective commitment to creating a safe environment for everyone living and working in our country, ensuring their rights are protected,” Alharbi said.
“The introduction of the national policy also builds on our ongoing work to safeguard employees’ rights, in collaboration with global and local partners.”
The national policy also includes victim-focused initiatives that will enhance care, support and access to justice.
It will support the implementation of measures to provide legal, social and economic support for forced labor victims, aiding their recovery and protecting against the risk of re-victimization.
This new policy is not the first of its kind for the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia has been implementing multiple measures to protect the rights of its workforce.
“The Kingdom already has a set of laws, rules and regulations addressing this matter even before the adoption of this policy,” Alobaidy said.
In October of 2024, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and the Insurance Authority launched an insurance service that would cover unpaid wages for up to six months and provide travel assistance for expatriates in the Kingdom in the case of private-sector defaults.
Alobaidy highlighted the multiple laws that the Kingdom has put in place to protect the workforce: “The law on trafficking of persons and the labor laws for example and regulations prohibit any forms of forced labor.”
Elaborating on Saudi Arabia’s decision to ratify the International Labour Organization’s Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, the professor said: “It is also commendable that the Kingdom took the lead among GCC countries in ratifying the protocol to the forced labor convention to eliminate forced labor.”
“The Kingdom’s adoption of this policy is welcome news to persons working or living in the Kingdom since it will ensure greater protection of their rights,” he said.
“This will enhance the work environment in the Kingdom in line with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives,” Alobaidy said.
Saudi Arabia expected to be among top tourism destinations by 2030, minister says
Updated 22 January 2025
Dalal Awienat
DAVOS: Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al-Khateeb said tourism accommodation in the Kingdom was expected to double over the next 10 years.
Al-Khateeb said Saudi Arabia, which has about 400,000 guest rooms at the moment, was projected to double that number to 800,000 by 2030.
The minister reiterated Saudi Arabia’s goal to be part of the world’s top seven tourism destinations by 2030.
“Saudi looks at why people travel and what they are looking for and understand what people want and focus on convenience,” he said.
The Kingdom’s tourism industry is growing at a rapid rate with the creation of mega-projects such as NEOM, a futuristic city on the Red Sea, and The Red Sea Project, which focuses on luxury and eco-tourism, expected to redefine global tourism standards.
Additionally, cultural landmarks such as AlUla, with its ancient Nabatean heritage, and Diriyah, the birthplace of the Saudi state, are undergoing significant restoration to offer visitors unique historical and cultural experiences.
When asked about how the Kingdom manages this growth, the minister said that governance in the Kingdom ensured coordination and that growth was not too rapid.
“There is no such thing as ‘over-tourism,’ but there is mismanagement of resources,” he said.
“Governments are taking tourism for granted. In Saudi we have a minister for tourism and a minister for culture. Having separate ones allows full focus and dedication on goal achieving,” Al-Khateeb added.
European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism Apostolos Tzitzikostas said Saudi Arabia was setting an example for the EU in managing tourism and developing a strong travel industry.
With technology advancing rapidly, Al-Khateeb said it was important to use new innovations smartly in the tourism sector.
“This is a people-to-people business. Yes, we should use technology for ease and convenience, but people interaction is an essential part of the experience,” he said.
Saudi Arabia sends new aid convoys for residents returning to northern Gaza
The assistance is part of a campaign aimed at providing essential relief to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip
Updated 22 January 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: New aid convoys from Saudi Arabia have arrived in northern Gaza, facilitated by the Saudi aid agency KSrelief.
The assistance is part of a campaign aimed at providing essential relief to the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, the Saudi Press Agency reported recently.
The convoys delivered shelter kits, including blankets, mattresses, cooking utensils, water containers and other necessary supplies to assist residents returning to their homes in northern Gaza.
The Saudi Center for Culture and Heritage, the executive partner of KSrelief in Gaza, began distributing these aid packages promptly.
The aid aims to help beneficiaries meet their basic needs as they return to homes that have been destroyed or damaged, SPA reported.
The effort is part of a series of humanitarian and relief programs executed by Saudi Arabia in solidarity with the Palestinian people during their ongoing hardships.
Saudi Arabia’s FM announces landmark visit to Lebanon
The one-day trip on Thursday will mark the first visit by a high-ranking Saudi official to Lebanon since 2015
Prince Faisal bin Farhan welcomed the potential formation of a new government but emphasized the need for real reforms
Updated 21 January 2025
DANIEL FOUNTAIN
DAVOS: Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Tuesday in Davos he would visit Lebanon later this week, the first such trip by a Saudi foreign minister in more than a decade.
He made the announcement during a panel on diplomacy at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss resort town.
The one-day trip on Thursday will mark the first visit by a high-ranking Saudi official to Lebanon since 2015, after years of strained relations due to Lebanon’s perceived alignment with Iran, its role in drug smuggling to Gulf countries, and ongoing instability.
Prince Faisal described the recent election of a president in Lebanon, following a prolonged political vacuum, as a highly positive development.
He said the Kingdom welcomed the potential formation of a government but emphasized the need for real reforms and a forward-looking approach to ensure sustainable progress.
He reiterated that the future of Lebanon rested in the hands of its people, urging them to make decisions that steer the country in a new direction.
A UN peacekeeper’s (UNIFIL) vehicle rides along a street in Marjaayoun, Southern Lebanon January 20, 2025. (AFP)
“We will need to see real action, real reform and we will need to see a commitment to a Lebanon that is looking to the future, not to the past,” said Prince Faisal.
“And based on what I hear there and what we see, I think that will inform the Kingdom’s approach, but I have to say what I’ve seen so far and the conversations that we’ve been hearing in Lebanon, all allow me to be very much optimistic.
“We’ve always said, it’s really up to the Lebanese to decide and to make the choices to take Lebanon in a different direction.”
Prince Faisal also said he is “cautiously optimistic” about Syria’s future, citing encouraging signs from the new administration in Damascus and the resilience of the Syrian people.
He emphasized the need for patience and engagement from both the regional and international communities to help rebuild the country’s broken institutions and create a better future for Syrians.
“I would certainly say I’m cautiously optimistic. I may even lean further because you have, first of all, an administration that is saying the right things in private and in public, doing a lot of the right things, but also you have a Syrian people that are incredibly capable and incredibly resourceful,” he said.
He urged collaboration to build on recent positive developments, underlining the collective responsibility to aid Syria’s recovery, especially considering the willingness of the new administration in Damascus to engage constructively with regional and global partners.
“The reality is that they have inherited a broken country with no real institutions and they are having to build all of that from scratch, and that’s not an easy thing,” he said.
“So it’s up to us, I feel in the region first but certainly the international community, to engage, to come and build on this positive development and help Syria and the Syrian people see a much better future.”
Prince Faisal highlighted the importance of lifting the heavy burden of sanctions imposed due to actions of the previous regime, noting some progress with waivers from the US and Europe.
A boy carrying stacks of bread on his head walks past a damaged school in Aleppo, Syria January 21, 2025. (Reuters)
Prince Faisal was also positive about the region as a whole, including the Kingdom.
“We are certainly in a region that is abundant with risk factors, but we are also in a region that has huge potential,” he told the panel.
“I would say that even with the very difficult year behind us, we have shown that we can be resilient as a region and we can actually look to the future, whether it’s the Kingdom, or the GCC countries, and their ability to stay on track with their economic agendas,” he added.
He stressed the importance of avoiding conflict, particularly in light of tensions between Iran and Israel, and expressed optimism regarding the new US administration under President Donald Trump.
“I don’t see the incoming US administration as contributory to the risk of war. On the contrary, I think President Trump has been quite clear that he does not favor conflict,” he said.
“I hope that the approach will also be met on the Iranian side by the addressing of the nuclear program, by being willing to engage with the incoming administration in a way that can help us stay on track with this positive momentum.”
Also on the panel was Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani, prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, who expressed hope that the ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Hamas would bring much needed relief to the Palestinian people.
Qatar’s PM Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani speaks with WEF President and CEO Borge Brende during the annual meeting in Davos on January 21, 2025. (AFP)
“Let’s be hopeful (about the ceasefire). It’s still a long way to go with what happened throughout the last 15 months negotiating this very difficult conflict,” he said.
“It showed us that everything can be resolved through talks and through engagement, through negotiations, and we started this week with good news.
“We have seen the humanitarian aid coming in, we have seen hostages going back and we hope that this will be a fair system toward stability now.”
