Riyadh, Arab News — Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman has pledged to extend all support to the Saudi Red Crescent Society (SRCS), which is involved in a number of humanitarian projects in the region.

Prince Salman made the pledge while inaugurating an SR47 million new nine-storied office complex for SRCS, here on Sunday night. It was also announced on the occasion that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd donated SR6 million to SRCS for purchasing and equipping ambulances.

The occasion also marked the opening of the three-day session of the General Assembly of the Organization of Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies here.

The inaugural ceremony of the new SRCS building was attended by Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie and a number of officials from Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross societies. The new complex, covering an area of 6,000 square meters in north Riyadh, has an ultra-modern auditorium, a spacious area for a permanent exhibition, and an underground parking lot besides modern office rooms, utilities and storage facilities.

Prince Salman reiterated that “the Kingdom will continue to provide assistance to different countries, which suffer either because of war or of natural calamities”.

Saudi Arabia has allocated humanitarian aid worth SR40 million for the strife-torn Darfur region in western Sudan, said Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Suwailem, chief the Saudi Red Crescent Society. “This is in addition to an important role in health care being played by SRCS,” said Dr. Al-Suwailem.

SRCS, which is a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, provides first aid and emergency medical services by operating about 150 medical centers and branches throughout the Kingdom, in addition to four mobile clinics and more than 500 ambulances and medical evacuation helicopters. It also plays a special part in caring for the millions of Muslim pilgrims during the annual Haj.

Referring to the agenda of the General Assembly of the Organization of Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Societies, Dr. Al-Suweilem said that “we will review the activities including humanitarian programs and proposals of the organization. We will also discuss certain issues to be taken up during the international meeting to be held in Seoul in November this year”. Arab region, he said, is marked by conflicts and violence.

“The conflict between Israel and Palestinians and the wider Arab world, the succession of wars involving Iraq and its neighbors, civil wars in a number of countries and the spread of violence to an increasingly larger area pose particular challenges for our societies in this region”, said Sadiq A. Al-Shehabi, general secretary of Bahrain Red Crescent Society. “Hence, there is greater need to empower organizations like Red Crescent and Red Cross in the Arab world,” he noted.