Arabia

An independent United Nations expert today hailed progress in Saudi Arabia on advancing the status of women but urged more action to prevent gender-based violence and raise their profile in public life.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special advisor on efforts to consolidate peace and pursue political, economic and social development in Iraq met with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah over the weekend for talks that focused on a range of regional issues as well as the country’s relations with the United Nations.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Saudi Arabia have approved almost $60 million worth of joint development projects over the next five years across the Middle Eastern country, the FAO announced today.

Mourning the death of Saudi Arabian King Fahd Bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, the United Nations Security Council today paid tribute to what Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday called the long-time Saudi leader’s “enduring contributions” to international and regional diplomacy.

Calling him a true friend of the United Nations since its inception, Secretary-General Kofi Annan today paid tribute to Saudi Arabian King Fahd’s enduring contributions in the field of international and regional diplomacy where he worked tirelessly to achieve peaceful solutions based on justice.