Cairo, SPA:
Ahmad bin Abdulaziz Qattan, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, affirmed that the Palestinian Cause is the top priority of the joint Arab action, stressing that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will continue to provide financial support for the Yemeni people.
Before the 151st meeting of the Arab Foreign Ministers Council, Qattan said that "upon directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to support Palestine politically and financially, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided $160 million for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in 2018."
He added that the Kingdom supports finding a political solution to maintain Syria's integrity and unity in accordance with the Security Council resolution No. 2254, calling upon the Libyan brothers to build the state and its institutions and preserve their capabilities.
The Kingdom was and still keen to safeguard Yemen's stability, Qattan said expressing the Kingdom's regret over the Iran-backed Houthi militias' violations against the Yemeni people. He reiterated the Kingdom's support for the UN envoy in Yemen to find a political solution for the Yemeni crisis in accordance with the Security Council resolution No. 2216, the Gulf initiative, outputs of the Yemeni national dialogue and Stockholm's agreement.
The Minister of State for African Affairs affirmed the continuation of the Kingdom's financial support for the Yemeni people, highlighting the Kingdom's support worth about $13 billion since the beginning of the crisis. He pointed to the Kingdom's recent donation of $500 million to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan 2019.
He also pointed to the Iranian violations in the Arab internal affairs, asserting the importance of denouncing this Iranian heinous act which harms the Arab national security.
"Iran's support for the terrorist militias and sectarian divisions in addition to targeting the Saudi cities, including the holy sites, is the tip of the iceberg," he said, affirming that Iran stands behind all actions aimed at destabilizing the security and stability of the Arab countries. He confirmed that the Arab relations with Iran must be based on principles of good neighborliness, respect for the sovereignty of the Arab States and non-interference in their internal affairs.
Qattan expressed the Kingdom's welcome of the 46th session of Council of Foreign Ministers of member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) which was held in Abu Dhabi recently.
He affirmed that counterterrorism at the regional and international arenas required integration of efforts and full implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, disclosing that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has signed cooperation agreements combating money laundering and countering financing of terrorism in addition to issuance of counterterrorism regulations. He pointed out the positive impact of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology (Etidal).
The Minister of State for African Affairs pointed out the Kingdom's welcome of the United Kingdom's decision to classify the entire Hezbollah as a terrorist organization, affirming that this classification is an important and constructive step in the process of counterterrorism around the world.
He concluded that the Kingdom called upon the international community to intensify efforts and enhance cooperation in counterterrorism as the efforts of the global coalition to defeat ISIS, stressing that the Kingdom is a main, important and active member in this coalition.