Rabiah to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘YCHO Plan Focuses on Sustainability’

Rabiah to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘YCHO Plan Focuses on Sustainability’
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Rabiah to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘YCHO Plan Focuses on Sustainability’

Rabiah to Asharq Al-Awsat: ‘YCHO Plan Focuses on Sustainability’

Advisor to the Royal Court and General Supervisor of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) Dr. Abdullah al-Rabiah said that the center has many ways to ensure that Yemeni citizens, living in areas under Houthi militias’ control, can benefit from the aid provided by the center.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday that these ways can be revealed and that he is reserving some of them to ensure the safety of workers on ground.

Rabiah said that Yemen Comprehensive Humanitarian Operations (YCHO) Plan focuses on sustainable projects and are also characterized by flexibility, effectiveness, rapid response and continuous development in line with the needs of Yemeni people as an individual and community and with the conditions on the ground.

Therefore, Rabiah said, the comprehensive operations are subject to periodic and continuous review in terms of requirements and conditions and the development of mechanisms to ensure their effectiveness and achieve their immediate and strategic objectives and positive effects.

The methods announced are the cooperation with local charitable societies and foundations in Yemen, which are official and reliable institutions, as well as the cooperation with the United Nations organizations and international humanitarian organizations, he added.

“It is not a secret when I say that in order to deliver our aids to the beneficiaries, we remove the slogan of the center and put instead slogans of UN and local organizations to ensure unimpeded access and in order not to be looted or confiscated brutally,” Rabiah further noted.

KSRelief’s General Supervisor said that in some cases the center bought food from traders within the provinces controlled by the coup militias to distribute them to the needy within the province.

“I affirm that the center will not hesitate to provide all means to deliver aid to the brothers in Yemen in compliance with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown the Prince to stand with brothers in their plight and alleviate their suffering.”

He also stressed that the long history and strong ties between Saudi Arabia and Yemen are not affected by the futility of the Iranian terrorist militias, adding that Saudi Arabia's humanitarian approach stems from the teachings of the Islamic religion and is not discouraged by such desperate defeatist acts.



Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Our Top Priority is Energy Support

The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
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Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia: Our Top Priority is Energy Support

The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)
The 11th Saudi relief plane operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) arrived in Poland in Friday ahead of heading to Ukraine. (SPA)

Ukrainian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Anatolii Petrenko, stressed that his country’s “top priority is energy support in multiple ways,” pointing to preparatory measures between Saudi Arabia and Ukraine concerning a Saudi aid package, most of which consists of energy equipment.
In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Petrenko said that the Kingdom has been assisting Ukrainian civilians since the early days of the “full-scale Russian invasion,” as he described it. He said Saudi aid “has helped provide decent living conditions for our people, who have been forced by the war to relocate to safe areas within the country. It has also helped us maintain citizens' access to medical services and sustain social infrastructure.”
The ambassador emphasized the difficult period Ukraine is facing due to “energy shortages caused by regular Russian attacks on critical infrastructure,” which previously ensured daily needs for urban and municipal areas. He expressed concern about the approaching winter season and the severe drop in temperatures across the country.
Petrenko pointed to the need for energy resources, as well as access to light, water and heat, to enable the Ukrainian agricultural sector to continue contributing to global and regional food security.
He expressed his country’s firm belief in the importance of Saudi Arabia’s support to bring energy self-sufficiency in Ukraine, presently and in the long term.”
He added: “Through our united efforts, we can enhance the green energy agenda by smartly utilizing diverse renewable energy sources as key resources that can give us complete energy independence.”
The Ukrainian ambassador described the Saudi friendship as “an Arab generosity.” He noted that both Ukraine and the Kingdom were jointly studying “the latest innovations and sustainable technologies, such as combined heat and power plants and piston turbines, which could offset energy losses in various regions of Ukraine and thus prevent humanitarian crises in the winter season for hundreds of thousands of people.”
On the occasion of Ukraine’s Independence Day, Petrenko stated that his country “stands firmly to celebrate another anniversary of its independence, while appreciating the immense contributions and aid provided by international partners and friends, including Saudi Arabia, which holds a prominent position in leading humanitarian efforts in the region and encourages others to follow the same approach.”
“This represents a success story that will open a new chapter in energy resilience, which helps us achieve national independence,” he underlined.
The ambassador added that Ukraine highly values its bilateral relations with the Kingdom.
“On behalf of my country, I express my gratitude to Saudi Arabia, both the government and the people, for everything they are doing to alleviate the humanitarian challenges facing civilians today,” he told Asharq Al-Awsat.
Riyadh continues to send planes carrying tons of humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRELIEF).
This follows an agreement and memorandum of understanding signed by both sides last year, which included providing an additional humanitarian aid package to Ukraine amounting to $400 million, as well as emergency medical and shelter aid valued at $10 million for refugees from Ukraine to neighboring countries, particularly Poland, in coordination with the Polish government and UN organizations.