Riyadh, SPA:
Sheikh Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ibrahim Al Al-Sheikh, the Speaker of the Shura Council, affirmed that the Kingdom, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, is keen to support the kingdom's brotherly countries with all means and has used its Islamic, political and economic status at the Arab, Islamic and international levels in order to achieve justice and lift injustice.
He made the remarks in a speech delivered at the 14th session of the Conference of the Union of Councils of the OIC Member Countries which began in Rabat this evening with the participation of the heads of the Councils of the OIC Member States.
He added that the Kingdom's positions on regional and international issues are firm and clear, as the Palestinian issue is at the forefront of its concerns, in recognition of the high Islamic status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
He stressed that the Palestinian issue has been and still is the first concern of the Kingdom in defending the rights of the Palestinian people until they have full rights in their territory.
He stated that "My country, in its support for the Palestinian cause, is firmly committed to the restoration of all the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost of which is the establishment of an independent Palestinian State on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Kingdom has the honor of being the world's foremost supporter of the Palestinian people financially and morally, reiterating its firm position of rejecting any decision calling for the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the Israeli occupation forces. This was confirmed by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in his recent meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and that resolving the Palestinian issue is important not only for the stability of the Middle East, but for the stability of the world, and in this regard we appreciate the efforts of Islamic countries to support a just solution to this issue."
Dr. Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh renewed the Kingdom‘s support for the legitimacy of Yemen and all efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Yemen.
He added that "the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in addition to its political stand with the legitimacy in Yemen, has not ignored the humanitarian side and extended a helping hand to the needy."
Dr. Abdullah Al Al-Sheikh also renewed warning against the threat of terrorism and terrorist organizations to the stability of the security situation and the progress of development programs in all countries of the world.
In this regard, he called for concerted efforts to confront all forms of terrorism and its organizations, pointing out that Saudi Arabia, like many other countries, has suffered from terrorism and led many international efforts to combat it at all levels.
He said, "We cannot talk about the danger of terrorism and supporting terrorists without reference to the Iranian regime and its hostile policies and acts of terrorism, the export of terrorist ideology and support for its organizations, and interfere in the internal affairs of countries, especially in our Islamic world without respect for the fundamentals of true religion or principles of good neighborliness." He stressed rejection of Iran‘s policies as rejected by the Charter of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Speaker of the Shura Council said, "Based on the Islamic and Arab principles, we do perform our humanitarian duties to the crises experienced by many countries and peoples of the region and the world without religious or ethnic discrimination; the Kingdom has provided more than 35 billion dollars in aid to more than (80) countries in the humanitarian, charitable and developmental fields."
The Speaker of the Shura Council expressed deep concern of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia about the continuation of the Syrian crisis and the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people at all levels. He stressed the importance of taking seriously the path of the political solution to this crisis to ensure the stability, unity and security of Syria.
He expressed the Kingdom‘s condemnation of the practices suffered by the Rohingya Muslims in Burma, calling on the international community to act to stop these practices and give the Muslim minority in Myanmar their rights without discrimination or racial classification.