Riyadh (UNA-OIC) � United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday commended Saudi Arabia's efforts to provide relief to distressed Yemeni people.

Praising the role of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSRelief), the UN chief said: It is one of the most important relief operators in dozens of countries.

He stated that KSRelief works professionally to alleviate the sufferings of people in disaster-hit and conflict-ridden areas around the world. It has established partnerships with the most important UN organizations and NGOs, Guterres said in a statement after a visit to the KSRelief headquarters in Riyadh.

Adviser to Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSrelief Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah received the UN chief, who also expressed his appreciation of King Salman's initiative to provide $50 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This is an example to be followed by other donors, he said.

For his part, Al-Rabeeah stressed the importance of joint cooperation between KSRelief and the UN agencies. He said the Kingdom has provided more than $65.9 billion aid to distressed people around the world over 20 years.

Since its inception three years ago, KSRelief has implemented 367 humanitarian projects in 40 countries, Al-Rabeeah explained, adding that in Yemen alone the Riyadh-based Center carried out 217 projects in different governorates.

The KSRelief chief also highlighted the efforts of Saudi Arabia and the Arab coalition members in supporting humanitarian work through the launch of a comprehensive operation plan in Yemen, which includes the reopening of 21 ports, land and air crossings as well as the Kingdom's efforts to support the Central Bank of Yemen to ensure the stability of the economic situation.

Source: International Islamic News Agency

Baku (UNA-OIC) � The Preparatory Meeting for the 4th Session of the Islamic Conference of Youth and Sports Ministers (ICYSM) kicked off Tuesday in Azerbaijan's capital Baku.

The ministerial meeting will be held on Wednesday under the theme of "Solidarity in Action for Youth Development", where Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Dr. Yousef Al-Othaimeen will deliver an opening speech highlighting the utmost importance attached by the OIC to the sports and youth development issues in the member states.

OIC Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian, Cultural and Family Affairs Ambassador Hesham Youssef read out the Organization's speech at the preparatory meeting. He stressed the importance of tackling the youth unemployment, intolerance and extremism as well as forced migration from some of the OIC member states by increasing efforts to empower young people and adopting the Joint Youth Actions Plan (2019-2020).

The meeting discussed the Draft OIC Youth Strategy; the Joint Youth Actions Plan; Implementation plan for the OIC Sports Strategy; promoting the joint youth plan; enhancing joint sports policies; and relevant draft resolutions, in preparation for submission to the youth and sports ministers for consideration and adoption.

The agenda items of the two-day conference of youth and sports ministers also include the reports of the Islamic Conference Youth Forum for Dialogue and Cooperation (ICYF-DC) and the Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF). The final report of the conference and the Baku Declaration are due to be issued at the end of the meeting.

Source: International Islamic News Agency

New York (UNA-OIC) � Bahrain was elected on Monday as a member of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), a standing committee of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

In one round of secret balloting, the Council elected Bahrain, China, India and Pakistan (Asia Pacific States) for a four-year term beginning 1 January 2019. It also elected Brazil, Cuba, Mexico and Nicaragua as members to represent the Latin American and Caribbean states, ECOSOC said in a statement on its website.

Bahrain's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Jamal Faris Al Rowaie said this is in line with the directives of King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to intensify efforts to promote the presence of the kingdom in international forums and to ensure that it takes its place within the UN principal organs.

The Council elected by acclamation 14 members for a three-year term to begin on 1 January 2019: Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Djibouti and Morocco (African States); Bangladesh, Mongolia and Pakistan (Asia-Pacific States); Lithuania (Eastern European States); Mexico (Latin American and Caribbean States); and Australia, Canada, France and Luxembourg (Western European and Other States), the statement read.

It is to be noted that Pakistan, which was reelected as a member of the ECOSOC standing committee on Monday, will have held the role for 10 years.

Source: International Islamic News Agency

New York (Yuna) � The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Monday elected Saudi Arabia as s member of the Executive Board of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) for the term of 2019-2021.

Permanent Mission of Saudi Arabia to the UN said in a statement that the Kingdom's winning of this role came during the ECOSOC meeting in New York on Monday. It added that this victory reflects the interest and support of the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for women and for promoting their participation in all fields and at all levels.

Along with Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, India and Mongolia were elected from the Asia-Pacific region, as part of a total of 17 countries elected from different geographical regions. They will begin their three-year term from 1 January 2019.

UN-Women was established in 2010 by General Assembly Resolution 64/289 to improve the coordination and coherence of work on gender equality and women's empowerment, replacing United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).

Source: International Islamic News Agency

Paris (UNA-OIC) � French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday France will contribute 50 million euros ($61.9 million) toward urgent humanitarian aid for Syria following a meeting with a group of non-governmental organizations (NGO) in Paris, Reuters reported.

"This evening I brought together NGOs working on the ground in Syria. Faced with the humanitarian situation, France is setting up an emergency program of 50 million euros," Macron said on his official Twitter account.

The funds will be allocated to NGOs and UN agencies working on the ground in Syria, including the UN office for humanitarian affairs, the French president's office said.

Some two dozen NGOs participated in the meeting with Macron at the Elysee presidential palace, including Action Aid, Handicap International, the Red Cross, and Care.

According to United Nations estimates, some 13 million people including six million children are in need of humanitarian aid in Syria, ravaged by a seven-year war that has displaced millions. The UN said on Thursday that it was hopeful of getting aid to at least 100,000 Syrians who are desperate for help after months of battle ended years of siege around the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

Source: International Islamic News Agency

Ankara (UNA-OIC) � Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke over the phone on Monday evening about the recent developments in Syria, Anadolu Agency reported.

According to the presidential sources, two leaders focused on ensuring Syria's territorial integrity and the political process in the war-torn country.

Erdogan and Merkel also shared thoughts on Friday's airstrikes by the U.S., France and the U.K. on the suspected chemical targets in Syria.

The U.S., UK, and France jointly launched strikes Friday night targeting the Assad regime's alleged chemical weapons capabilities after a suspected chemical attack killed dozens outside of Damascus.

On the other side, Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak and his German counterpart Peter Altmaier have vowed to improve relations between their countries after months-long tensions.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin on Monday, Albayrak voiced hope for a new era in relations after Chancellor Merkel formed a new coalition government last month.

For Turkey, Germany is a very important, indispensable partner, he said.

As the new government took office in Germany, Turkey aims to foster a new era in relations, which would be more realistic, more rational, and benefiting both countries.

Albayrak expressed hope that Turkey and Germany would further enhance their cooperation in economy, trade and energy sectors.

Altmaier, a close ally of Merkel, underlined the importance of closer cooperation between both countries at a time of growing uncertainty in the Middle East.

Minister Albayrak and I agreed to deepen our cooperation, he said and highlighted great opportunities for both countries in areas of environmental policy, climate protection, and renewable energy.

Altmaier announced the Turkey-Germany Energy Forum, a major gathering of energy companies from both countries, will convene in the coming months.

Political relations between Ankara and Berlin suffered several setbacks in recent years, but both sides took steps in the recent month towards normalization of ties.

EU heavyweight Germany is Turkey's main economic and trade partner. In 2017, the bilateral trade volume reached Euros 37.6 billion ($46.5 billion). Around 7,150 German companies are currently active in Turkey.

Source: International Islamic News Agency