United Nations- SPA

The United Nations General Assembly held a special session yesterday to offer
condolences on the death of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud  that was attended by the Secretary General of the United Nations
Ban Ki-moon, the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United
Nations Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Moallemi, and representatives of various
countries and groups at the United Nations.

In their orations,  representatives of groups of states at the United Nations offered
their condolences to the Kingdom's leadership and people on the death of late King
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, stressing their commitment to cooperate of Saudi Arabia.

They lauded the merits of late King Abdullah in the service of his country, the global
security, the dialogue between the followers of religions and cultures, his role in
promoting peace in the Middle East and standing against the wave of violence and
terrorism, and his role in the development of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

They expressed their sincere wishes for further development and progress of Saudi Arabia
under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz
Al Saud.

The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commended in his speech the late King
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and his contributions to peace, security, and humanitarian areas,
describing him as the wise and merciful leader, who managed the Kingdom's efforts in
development, worked to address the challenges to peace and security, combated terrorism,
and devoted his endeavors seeking for achieving rapprochement and understanding between
the peoples of different cultures.

Ban Ki-moon described the late King as a hero in the fight against hunger, indicating
the Kingdom's donation amounting to five hundred million dollars to the World Food
Programme in 2008 during the crisis of food rising prices, in addition to its large
financial contribution to the humanitarian efforts in Syria and Iraq last year.
He pointed to the late King's important initiatives to promote dialogue between the
followers of religions and cultures, referring to his recent meeting with the late King
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz in Jeddah last July, which mainly focused on resolving the
conflict in the Middle East and the revival of the Arab Peace Initiative, behind which
he was the driving force.

The UN Secretary General affirmed that the late King's efforts made an impact on Arab
and Islamic worlds, and the international community.