The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Damascus on Monday held a reception marking the World Humanitarian Day at the Sheraton Hotel in Damscus.
The Charge d’ Affairs of the Saudi Embassy Abdullah Al-Haris affirmed that the Syrian-Saudi relations are continuously booming and they are getting better.
In a speech, Al-Haris said that today’s celebration aims at expressing appreciation and gratitude for those working in the humanitarian field who sacrificed their lives to serve humanity and help the needy and refugees in various parts of the world. He noted the importance of disseminating awareness about humanitarian work and about making it a culture before it becomes a behavior.
Al-Haris added that humanitarian work is one of the priorities of Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid, the body authorized to provide aid to countries and the world as a whole, based on the Kingdom’s humanitarian and pioneering role towards the international community in various parts of the world and its feeling that this influential role is important in alleviating the suffering of people so that they can live a decent life.
In a statement to SANA, Al-Harees said: “Saudi-Syrian relations are in continuous development and are heading towards the better under the directives of the leaders of the two countries.
For his part, Director of the Arab Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riyad Abbas stressed that celebrating humanitarian work reminds us that humanity is the bridge that connects all our hearts, and that doing good is the language spoken by the entire world.
The Chargé d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Iraq in Damascus Yassin Al-Hajimi said that today’s celebration, at the invitation of the Saudi Embassy, aims to discuss how to raise the level of humanitarian work and enhance cooperation to provide aid and services to affected peoples, especially in the light of the presence of natural disasters, earthquakes and floods, in addition to wars that claim the lives of thousands of safe civilians.
Al-Hajimi pointed out that when a devastating earthquake occurred in Syria last year, resulting in thousands of victims and leaving behind a lot of destruction, Arab countries rushed to provide humanitarian and medical aid, which is evidence of Arab solidarity and cooperation in facing challenges, wars and crises.
Bahrain’s Ambassador to Damascus Wahid Mubarak Al-Sayyar also said that the Saudi embassy’s celebration of this day indicates the strength of the relationship between Arab countries and Syria, in addition to the interest in humanitarian work worldwide to provide relief and support to those in need.
It is noteworthy that the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in 2008 declaring August 19 as the World Humanitarian Day, as an attack on the Al-Qanat Hotel in Baghdad, Iraq, resulted in the killing of 22 humanitarian relief workers, including the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Iraq, Sergio Vieira de Mello.
Hamda Muatafa