LOC09:03
06:03 GMT
NEW YORK, Sept 24 (KUNA) -- Saudi Arabia has called on the international community to join hands in the face of common challenges facing humanity, foremost the coronavirus pandemic and its health, humanitarian and economic impacts.
This came in a virtual speech by King Salman bin Abdulaziz before UN's 75th General Assembly last night, in which he said Saudi Arabia, current G20 president, continued to support international response efforts to counter humanitarian and economic ramifications of Covid-19.
More than 30 million people have been infected by coronavirus, which claimed almost a million lives.
King Salman reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's respect of international law, seeking to achieve security and stability in region and around the globe, and supporting political solutions for conflicts as well as fighting all forms of extremism.
The UN has been always attempting to realize global peace and security, he said, but the Middle East has been suffering from major security and political challenges threatening security of people and stability of countries in the region.
Saudi Arabia will, amidst these challenges, defend its national security, said King Salman, and would not abandon the Yemeni people until they realize full sovereignty and independence in line with UN resolution 2216, the GCC initiative and its implementation mechanism and outcome of national dialogue.
"Peace in the Middle East is our strategic choice, Saudi Arabia supports all efforts to push forward the peace process," he said.
He said the Arab peace initiative, approved in a 2002 Arab Summit in Beirut, Lebanon, aimed at achieving a just resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict that would pave way for establishment of an independence Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital.
King Salman, meanwhile, called on the Libyan parties to sit on the negotiations' table and condemned foreign interference in the Libyan affairs.
He reiterated support for a peaceful solution for the Syrian conflict, and Saudi Arabia's support for the Lebanese people following last month's massive Beirut port explosion that killed at least 170 people and injured over 6,000 others. (end)
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