Saudi Arabia pledges $10 million aid for Rohingyas
OIC Secretary General Al-Othaimeen reviewed the efforts made by the organization on Rohingya Issue, including several campaigns to raise awareness and to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyas
Saudi Arabia has announced $10 million in aid to the Rohingyas in Myanmar.
The announcement was made by Minister of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Al-Assaf, who heads the Kingdom's delegation participating in the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Meanwhile, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Youssef Al-Othaimeen praised the announcement of Al-Assaf, about the Kingdom's donation of $10 million to meet the needs of Rohingya refugees. He expressed deep gratitude and appreciation of Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action, which is following up the humanitarian developments associated with the mass exodus of the Muslim Rohingya minority and providing them with the much needed support, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
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"We are meeting here today to discuss the tragedy of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar, which has forced a large number of Rohingya to flee their homes to neighboring countries," he said at an event organized by Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on the sidelines of the General Assembly session.
Al-Othaimeen reviewed the efforts made by the organization in this regard, including several campaigns to raise awareness of this issue and also to provide humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya.
"In 2012, efforts were exerted at the regional and global levels to help protect the Rohingya. Numerous contacts have been made with the Myanmar authorities, which resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding allowing the establishment of a humanitarian and development office in Yangon and the opening of a branch office in Sittwe," he said noting "this MoU was signed in September 2012 and this raised great hopes, which however were subsequently shattered."
Al-Othaimeen also participated in another event organized by Bangladesh in New York in the presence of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In his speech, the OIC chief commended the efforts of Sheikh Hasina and the people of Bangladesh, welcoming more than one million Rohingya refugees, providing assistance and shelter. He lauded Dhaka's firm commitment to the Rohingya cause, while calling on the international community to continue to support Bangladesh in this regard.
The secretary general called on Myanmar to fulfill its commitment to cooperate fully with Bangladesh on the repatriation of refugees, asking the authorities to ensure the protection of all civilians without discrimination and full observance of all international human rights conventions.
