Saudi Arabia, France Agree on Funding Humanitarian Projects for Lebanese People

Prince Faisal and Le Drian meet in Paris. (SPA)
Prince Faisal and Le Drian meet in Paris. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia, France Agree on Funding Humanitarian Projects for Lebanese People

Prince Faisal and Le Drian meet in Paris. (SPA)
Prince Faisal and Le Drian meet in Paris. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah held talks in Paris on Monday with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.

Talks focused on the latest regional and international developments.

They also tackled Saudi-French ties and ways to bolster them in all fields.

The meeting at the French Foreign Ministry addressed coordination between Riyadh and Paris on Lebanon and the suffering of its people as a result of the severe economic and humanitarian crises they are enduring.

They agreed to fund several humanitarian projects dedicated to the Lebanese people. The projects will provide direct aid to several hospitals and primary healthcare facilities in Lebanon.

They will also raise the level of healthcare in fighting the coronavirus pandemic. They will provide funds to organizations that distribute baby formula and food to the neediest segments of society.

On Yemen, Prince Faisal and Le Drian underscored the importance of efforts dedicated to reaching a comprehensive political solution to its crisis.

Paris stressed its support to the Saudi peace initiative on Yemen that was proposed in March 2021 and it strongly condemned the Iran-backed Houthi militias for launching armed drones and ballistic missiles at the Kingdom.

On Iran, both sides stressed the importance of reaching any agreement that prevents Tehran from developing or acquiring nuclear weapons.

The ministers underlined the need to maintain coordination to confront challenges and bolster regional security.



Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Taiwan’s Representative to Saudi Arabia: 260,000 Pagers Exported in Two Years

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Taiwan is investigating who is responsible for modifying the pagers that were turned into explosives in the hands of the Lebanese people, including members of Hezbollah.

Taiwan’s representative to Saudi Arabia Samee Chang told Asharq Al-Awsat that 260,000 pagers were exported from his country between 2022 and 2024, and 16 percent of them were sent to the United States and Europe.

He expressed his regret that the pagers were planted with explosives that were used in the attack in Lebanon last month, clarifying that the devices were not directly exported from Taiwan to Lebanon.

He explained that the components of the device are made of material that is not liable to explode.

Apollo Gold, the Taiwanese company that exported the pagers between 2022 and 2024, has never received any complaints that its devices have caused harm or exploded.

The attack in Lebanon has raised several questions and they are being probed by authorities in Taiwan, he went on to say.

One thing is for certain, the devices were not harmful in the shape they were exported from the country, stressed Chang.

Asked about whether the attack may harm Taiwan’s economy, he replied that his country’s industry sector has a strong reputation that will be difficult to undermine given the trust it has from clients.

The size of the sector and Taiwan’s investments cannot be measured by a small number of pagers, as they only make up a mere fraction in the country’s trade relations with countries all over the world, he stressed.

Separately, Chang revealed that Taiwan was considering cooperation with Saudi Arabia in the chip industry, saying he was optimistic over the broad potential for cooperation in the technology sector.

There are no limits to the cooperation between them, he added.

Taiwan constantly wants to maintain the relations and discuss opportunities for joint investments, he stated.

Taiwan was among the first countries to leap to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in all fields to help the Kingdom achieve its Vision 2030 that is spearheaded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Chang said.