Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz announced the allocation of humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the amount of $400 million, the official SPA news agency reported on Saturday following his phone talk with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky the day before.
The Crown Prince emphasized “the Kingdom’s position of supporting everything that will contribute to de-escalation, and the Kingdom’s readiness to continue the efforts of mediation,” SPA reported.
In turn, Zelensky congratulated the crown prince for his appointment as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom, and expressed his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom for its vote for the UNGA resolution, along with 142 other countries, condemning Russia’s decision to annex.
Ben Salman stressed that the Kingdom’s vote for the resolution emanates from its commitment to the deep rooted principles in the UN charter and international law, and its commitment to the respect of state sovereignty and the principles of good neighborliness, and resolving conflicts by peaceful means.
The President of Ukraine said the two leaders had agreed to work towards the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Russian troops. The Saudi Crown Prince played a prominent role in mediating efforts in September that successfully led to the release of 10 prisoners of war, including two Americans.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky noted the strengthening of contacts with Saudi Arabia last week.
“There are significant agreements. Among other things, this is the decision of our partners to provide a $400 million humanitarian support package. This is very important,” he said in a video message on Sunday evening.
“We have the most significant relationship with Saudi Arabia in 30 years,” he said.
The agricultural sector of Kazakhstan has great potential and can become one of the long-term suppliers of high-quality wheat and oilseeds to Saudi Arabia, President of the Republic Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said.
“Kazakhstan ranks second in the world in terms of arable land per capita and fifth in terms of pasture resources (180 million hectares). Our country is one of the 10 largest producers of wheat and flour. We are ready to become one of the stable, long-term suppliers of high-quality wheat, flour and oilseeds to the kingdom,” Tokayev said, speaking at an investment round table with representatives of the business community of Saudi Arabia on Sunday in Jeddah.
KAZAKHSTAN, OILSEEDS, SAUDI ARABIA, SUPPLIER, Tokayev, WHEAT
At a meeting with Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba asked Saudi Arabia to help solve the fuel crisis in Ukraine, and also discussed ways to unblock food exports from Ukraine to Arab and African countries.
“Met with my Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal Binh Farhan Al Saud. Ukraine and Saudi Arabia are friends and partners. Focused on ways to unlock Ukraine’s food exports to Arab and African countries. Kingdom can play an important role. I also asked Saudi Arabia to help us resolve our fuel crisis,” Kuleba tweeted on Wednesday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Anatoliy Petrenko Ambassador of Ukraine to Saudi Arabia.
“Appoint Anatoliy Hryhorovych Petrenko Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said the text of Decree No.15/2022 of January 21, published on the President’s website.
The number of tourists from Saudi Arabia to Ukraine reached 48,700 people in nine months of 2021, which is 10 times more than in entire 2019, the State Agency for Tourism Development reported at a recent aviation tourism forum in Boryspil (Kyiv region).The agency clarified that its calculations were based on the assumption that the minimum expenses of one tourist are $2,000, while, according to expert estimates, they amount to $2,000-3,000.The agency indicated that the cost of the promotional campaign in the Saudi Arabian market was $120,000, another $26,000 was spent on promotional tours.Among the success factors, the agency also named the entry of the leading low-cost airline of Saudi Arabia flynas into the Ukrainian market in May this year and the flights of the Ukrainian SkyUp.At the same time, the agency indicated that in the first half of 2021, the number of tourists to Ukraine decreased by 31.54%, to 1.424 million people. The drop in the indicator was primarily due to tourists from Europe, as a result, their share decreased to 70.4% from 80% in the same period in 2020, while the share of tourists from Asia increased from 10.3% to 24.4%.
