Saudi Arabia signs pact, MoU to provide $400 million aid to Ukraine
Riyadh, The Gulf Observer: Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have signed an agreement and a memorandum of understanding worth $400 million of aid to the European country.
It is an implementation of the pledge made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in October 2022 on providing an additional humanitarian aid package to Ukraine.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the president of Ukraine, attended the signing ceremony.
The agreement includes a joint cooperation program to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine worth $100 million.
It was co-signed by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser to the Royal Court and supervisor general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, and Oleksandr Kubrakov, deputy prime minister of Ukraine.
The memorandum includes the financing of oil derivatives worth $300 million as a grant submitted by the government of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi Fund for Development. The agreement was signed by SFD CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad, and Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko.
The Saudi Press Agency said the signing of the agreement and the memorandum reflected the Kingdom’s support of Ukraine in the face of social and economic challenges.
Ukraine’s president received Prince Faisal in Kyiv on Sunday.
Prince Faisal said the Kingdom was working with Ukraine to mitigate the economic effects of the conflict in the country.
He added that he was discussing opportunities for continued investment cooperation with Ukraine.
The Kingdom will continue its efforts to contribute to alleviating the human impact of the conflict, the minister said.
The two parties also discussed several regional and international issues, and developments of common concern.
The Saudi foreign minister said: “We continue to discuss opportunities to settle the crisis with all parties.”
The prime minister and crown prince also made a phone call to Zelensky on Friday.
He expressed the Kingdom’s readiness to continue efforts at mediation, and its support of measures that contributed to de-escalation, the SPA said.
