Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah

Moscow, (IINA) : Saudi Arabia is in the forefront of the international community in terms of share of gross domestic product (GDP) earmarked for humanitarian aid, and a world leader in absolute volumes, Arab News reported Sunday.

The King Salman Center for Humanitarian Aid and Relief (KSRelief) was one of King Salman’s first initiatives when he came to power. Despite being relatively new, it is already playing a significant role in providing humanitarian aid in many countries.

KSRelief currently operates, in conjunction with 28 international and local partners, 28 food-security and shelter projects benefitting almost 18 million people in eight countries: Albania, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritania, Somalia, Iraq, Zambia, Yemen, and Tajikistan.

In Yemen, KSRelief operates 21 humanitarian aid delivery projects benefitting 27.5 million people, involving 11 international and local partners. It also operates 33 medical aid projects benefitting 16.6 million people in Yemen and Yemeni refugees in Djibouti, involving 40 international and local partners.

The head of KSRelief, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, said: “King Salman, when he was governor of Riyadh, personally supported humanitarian communities and programs worldwide. He is known to be involved in charity, relief activities, and humanitarian work. So it was no surprise that one of his first initiatives was to establish KSRelief and streamline the work of the humanitarian community. The fact that a minister was appointed to lead the Center shows that this is a top priority for King Salman.”

“For the last two or three decades, Saudi Arabia has been among the biggest donors, and in 2014 we had the highest share of a country’s GDP donated. We continue to invest a good part of our GDP to reduce human suffering worldwide,” he added.