The King Salman Center for Rescue and Humanitarian Assistance (KSRelief) has donated $10 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP). King Salman Rescue and Humanitarian Relief Center (KSRelief) has donated $10 million to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to support war-affected Ukrainians in 1,200 facilities across the country with daily hot meals, according to the WFP press office.
“We are grateful to KSRelief for supporting a vital component of our emergency assistance programs in Ukraine that supports the most vulnerable Ukrainians and strengthens the local institutions and organizations that care for them,” said Marianne Ward, acting director of WFP Ukraine.
According to a press release, the agreement was signed between H.E. Dr. Abdullah Al Rabia, Advisor to the Royal Court and General Manager of KSRelief, and WFP Executive Director Cindy McCain.
Saudi Arabia’s contribution will help provide 50 million meals to the institutions that WFP supports (hospitals, shelters for internally displaced persons, orphanages, neuropsychiatric and geriatric institutions, and other public or private organizations that care for vulnerable Ukrainian citizens).
“We are pleased to be part of this important emergency program to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of the affected population in Ukraine. KSrelief’s humanitarian assistance will provide vital food aid to the most vulnerable communities across the country,” the press office quoted KSRelief’s Assistant General Manager for Planning and Development, Ahmed Al Baiz, as saying.
The assistance provided will allow the purchase and delivery of about 7,600 tons of food. It is noted that all products, including flour, pasta, buckwheat, oatmeal, peas, sugar and oil, are purchased from Ukraine to support the local economy and food system.
Over the next six months, WFP’s institutional feeding program plans to provide food assistance to 210,000 vulnerable Ukrainians. KSRelief’s contribution will cover a significant portion of the program’s needs – approximately 67%. This is support for 140 thousand people.
During 2023, WFP’s institutional feeding program supported 460,000 Ukrainians in Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Chernivtsi, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Khmelnytskyi, Kirovograd, Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolayiv, Odessa, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zakarpattya, Zaporizhzhya and Zhytomyr regions.
Institutional feeding is one of the many ways WFP supports Ukrainians affected by the war. WFP is also distributing food packages in areas close to the front line where food is hard to find or very expensive, distributing cash assistance to vulnerable Ukrainians across the country, and supporting the safe release of agricultural land mines in Kharkiv Oblast to help farmers and food producers. WFP has also chartered 25 ships to export Ukrainian grain to countries in need through the Black Sea Grain Initiative and Grain from Ukraine.
The United Nations World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization that saves lives in emergencies and uses food aid to build a path to peace, stability and prosperity for people recovering from conflict, natural disasters and the effects of climate change.
During a working visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with the Crown Prince, Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud.
“The Ukrainian head of state emphasized the desire of Saudi Arabia to help restore a just peace in Ukraine,” the presidential press service reported.
Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud exchanged views on the current situation in the world and possible ways to end the war in Ukraine.
The parties discussed the realization of the Formula for Peace. The President of Ukraine thanked the Crown Prince for his valuable advice on speeding up the process of implementation of a number of its points.
“Saudi Arabia’s leadership can help to find fair solutions,” the President said.
The Head of State informed the Crown Prince about the preparation by Ukraine together with its partners of the first Global Summit of Peace at the level of leaders, which will be held in Switzerland. Volodymyr Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud discussed the content of the summit and possible steps to really restore security for Ukraine, all of Europe and all peoples of the world.
“We are equally interested in ensuring global stability,” the President emphasized.
The leaders also discussed specific opportunities for bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and Saudi Arabia in the economic and technological sphere.
Volodymyr Zelensky and Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud instructed the teams of the two states to work on the relevant areas discussed during the meeting.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived in Saudi Arabia to discuss the Ukrainian formula for peace and the return of prisoners and deportees, the Head of State said.
“Arrived in Saudi Arabia to continue our regular dialogue with His Highness Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud,” Zelensky wrote on his Telegram channel on Tuesday.
“The number one topic is the Formula for Peace. Last year in Jeddah, we held an effective meeting at the level of advisers on its implementation. We are now close to holding the first Peace Summit and look forward to continued active support from Saudi Arabia,” the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, topic number two is “the return of prisoners and deportees. Saudi leadership has already contributed to the release of our people. I am confident that this meeting will bring results.”
The parties also plan to discuss “promising areas of economic cooperation and Saudi Arabia’s participation in the restoration of Ukraine.”
MHP, Ukraine’s largest chicken producer, has signed a shareholder agreement to establish a joint venture with Desert Hills Veterinary Services Company Limited (DHV), a subsidiary of Tanmiah Food Company, a leading supplier of poultry and other meat products in the Middle East listed on the Saudi stock market.
“This partnership will allow DHV and MHP to join forces to invest over SAR 200 million (about $53 million at current exchange rates) in farms with a capacity of over 1 million parent flocks, which are expected to produce around 175 million hatching eggs per year, in a state-of-the-art hatchery and poultry feed mill,” MHP said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange on Friday.
Building on the foundation laid by the Memorandum of Understanding signed earlier this year, DHV will hold a 55% stake and MHP will hold a 45% stake in the joint venture.
According to the agroholding, this year MHP and DHV signed a memorandum of understanding to cement their partnership to join forces to develop farms with a capacity of more than 1 million birds, which will produce about 175 million hatching eggs annually. A modern poultry hatchery and feed mill will also be built in Saudi Arabia.
“The deepening of our alliance with Tanmia is a strategic turning point in MHP’s global reach. This partnership symbolizes our shared vision of integrating international expertise with local knowledge and ensuring that Saudi Arabia achieves its food security goals. Our collective strengths will catalyze transformational achievements in the poultry sector, driving innovation and setting new standards of excellence,” said John Rich, MHP Executive Chairman.
“Our collaboration with MHP means more than just a partnership; it reflects our commitment to strengthening Saudi Arabia’s food security system. By leveraging our local knowledge combined with global best practices, our portfolio of first-class products, services and solutions demonstrates our commitment (…) to the broader goals of Vision 2030,” said Zulfiqar Hamadani, CEO of Tanmiah Food Company (a subsidiary of DHV).
According to the report, the signing of the shareholders’ agreement is a crucial step in the establishment of the joint venture after obtaining the necessary approvals, including the permission of the General Authority for Competition of Saudi Arabia and other relevant jurisdictions.
The signing ceremony was attended by Sheikh Amr Al-Dabbagh, Chairman of the Board of Tanmiah Food Company (a subsidiary of DHV), as well as members of the Board and executive management of the company, representatives of the Saudi government, and Ambassador of Ukraine to Saudi Arabia Anatoliy Petrenko. MHP’s Board was represented by Executive Chairman John Rich and Managing Director Yevgeny Levterov.
Tanmiah Food Company is a leading supplier of poultry and other meat products in the Middle East, listed on the Saudi stock market. The company was founded in 1962. Its business model combines enterprises in agriculture, primary processing and marketing of products sold in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Kuwait. Tanmiah Food Company is the main franchisee of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen.
As of June 30, 2023, Tanmiah operates 114 farms, as well as six hatcheries, two feed mills and four primary processing plants (slaughterhouses). It sells its products through a network of wholesalers, retailers and food outlets, as well as through its e-commerce platform.
MHP is the largest producer of chicken in Ukraine. It also produces grain, sunflower oil, and processed meat products. MHP supplies chilled chicken half-carcasses to the European market, which are processed, in particular, at its facilities in the Netherlands and Slovakia. In February 2019, the holding completed the acquisition of the Slovenian company Perutnina Ptuj.
In 2021, MHP earned $393 million in consolidated net profit against a net loss of $133 million in 2020, while its revenue increased by 25% to $2.37 billion. In the first nine months of 2022, the agricultural group reported a net loss of $269 million, compared to a profit of $377 million in January-September 2021, and its revenue increased by 14% to $1.88 billion.
In the first quarter of 2023, MHP’s revenue increased by 34.7% compared to the first quarter of 2022 to $745.60 million, and net profit amounted to $49.07 million compared to $108.25 million (at the same time, exchange rate gain amounted to $4.18 million compared to exchange rate loss of $95.32 million).
MHP’s founder, majority shareholder and chairman of the board is Ukrainian businessman Yuriy Kosyuk.
The BRICS member states have decided to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to join the organization, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.
“We have decided to invite Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to become full members of BRICS,” Ramaphosa said in a speech at the BRICS summit.
The membership of these countries will become official on January 1, 2024, the South African leader explained.
Saudi Arabia will increase prices in August for all oil grades for US, Northwest Europe and Mediterranean customers as well as for some grades for Asian customers.Saudi Arabia raises oil prices slightly for US and Europe
The most significant price increases will be for customers from the Mediterranean (1-1.1%) and Northwest Europe (0.8%). For the US, Saudi oil will rise by 0.1%.
The cost of the main grade supplied to Asia, Arab Light, will increase by $0.2 per barrel next month. As a result, it will be $3.2 a barrel more expensive than the Oman and Dubai oil basket.
EUROPE, OIL, SAUDI ARABIA, US
