Author: Mahdeehassan

NEW YORK: The Muslim World League on Thursday hosted an event titled “AI for All: Faith, Human Dignity and Artificial Intelligence” on Thursday with the support and participation of the UN, during the high-level week of the UN General Assembly. The event was attended by MWL Secretary-General and chairman of the Muslim World League’s Association of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations Miguel Moratinos and Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed. The gathering also brought together religious leaders involved in AI ethics research, representatives of major…

ALKHOBAR: Saudi Arabia has called for accelerated recovery efforts in Gaza and unrestricted humanitarian access ahead of winter, while urging the full implementation of the next phase of the ceasefire and reconstruction plan. Dr. Manal Radwan, adviser and special envoy to the foreign minister for negotiations and peace efforts, represented the Kingdom at a high-level roundtable in New York City on Wednesday focused on consolidating peace and advancing Gaza’s early recovery. The event was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Titled “From Sharm El-Sheikh to Phase II: Consolidating Peace and Early Recovery,” the meeting was hosted by…

STOCKHOLM: Aseil Al-Shehail presented her letters of credence as ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Sweden to King Carl XVI Gustaf on Thursday. Al-Shehail conveyed the greetings and best wishes of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and discussed further strengthening Saudi-Swedish relations and cooperation. On Sept. 7, the ambassador met Dr. Sinisa Grgic, ambassador of Croatia and dean of the diplomatic corps. “We had a constructive exchange of views on matters of mutual interest. His kind welcome and good wishes were greatly appreciated,” Al-Shehail said on X.

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification will represent the Kingdom at the 28th session of the Committee on Forestry next week. The event, which will take place at the headquarters of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2, coincides with the 10th World Forest Week, also at the FAO HQ, the theme for which this year is “Forests for food, resilience and prosperity.” The Kingdom’s participation reflects its active presence in regional and international forums related to forestry, its contributions to global dialogue on the sustainable management of…

WASHINGTON: Saudi Cultural Attache to the US and Canada Tahani Al-Baiz said Saudi students continue to strengthen their academic presence at elite institutions in America and Canada, with the number of enrollments reaching about 1,545 at pioneer universities, according to 2026 statistics. It comes as part of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship Program, which aims to boost human capital efficiency by offering scholarships to leading global educational institutions, with the pioneers track targeting the top 30 educational institutions worldwide. Of this total, 950 students are enrolled at US universities under the pioneer universities category, while about 595…

NEW YORK: Saudi aid agency KSrelief co-hosted a high-level meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday to discuss diplomacy’s role in supporting humanitarian efforts in war- and disaster-stricken regions. “Humanitarian work is facing unprecedented challenges from political obstruction, natural disasters, violations of international humanitarian law and funding gaps,” said Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of KSrelief. The event was attended by Arab News alongside Pakistani, UN and European officials, as well as representatives of human rights organizations. Since its establishment in 2015, KSrelief has implemented 4,463 humanitarian projects in 113 countries, spending more than $8.5 billion on…

NEW YORK: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan called for the full and immediate implementation of the US-backed Gaza peace plan, while urging international action against Israeli settlement expansion, settler violence and annexation policies in the occupied West Bank. He was speaking at a high-level meeting in New York titled “The Road Ahead: One Year after the New York Declaration and the Comprehensive 20-point Peace Plan for Gaza,” co-chaired by Saudi Arabia, France, the UK and Canada. “Security must be built on mutual interests rather than at the expense of another party,” Prince Faisal said, stressing that the establishment…

Saudi National Day offers an opportunity not only to reflect on how far the Kingdom has come, but also to consider what those changes now make possible. Much has been written about Saudi Arabia’s ambition over the past decade — and rightly so. Ambition has been the catalyst for extraordinary change. But from the perspective of someone who has spent a career building international events, ambition is only the beginning. What ultimately defines a global events destination is something else entirely: capability. Capability is what turns vision into delivery. It is the ability to bring together governments, industries and international…

The Saudi Embassy in Georgia hosted a reception in the capital, Tbilisi, to mark National Day, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday. Saudi Ambassador to Georgia Salman Al-Sheikh welcomed Georgian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Khvtisiashvili, ambassadors from friendly countries and Georgian government officials. Embassy staff and Saudi students studying in Georgia also attended the reception.

NEW YORK: The US will honor its defense commitments to Saudi Arabia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday amid escalating regional tensions and Houthi attacks on the Kingdom. “We have a very strong defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, and we will live up to our commitments in that agreement,” Rubio told reporters when asked whether President Donald Trump was prepared to take further action against the Houthis. Rubio declined to discuss what military options were available to Trump but reiterated that Saudi Arabia was a strategic defense partner of the US. “The US has made commitments to them.…