News release

ICRC President concludes visit to Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

President Spoljaric with HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
President Spoljaric with HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Riyadh (ICRC) – The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Mirjana Spoljaric, has concluded a two-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The trip was an opportunity to reinforce the importance of humanitarian action and international humanitarian law in alleviating suffering in conflict zones globally.

President Spoljaric met with HH Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Fahad bin Abdurrahman Al-Jalajel, Minister of Health; Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General of KSRelief & Advisor to the Royal Court; Waleed Elkhereiji, Deputy Minister Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mushabib Al Qahtani, Director of the Institute for Diplomatic Studies, Dr. Jalal bin Mohammed Al Owaisi, President of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority; and Mr. Faisal Al Qahtani, Deputy CEO of the Saudi Fund for Development.  

The ICRC president also spoke at the Prince Saud Al Faisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies. In her speech, she emphasised how IHL is not only a legal obligation but a fundamental pathway to lasting peace. She also called on world leaders to strengthen their commitment to IHL as a tool to reduce human suffering. 

“In a divided world, the Geneva Conventions embody universal values, serving as a common denominator of humanity and paving a possible pathway to peace,” she said in her remarks. 

About the ICRC

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a neutral, impartial and independent organization with an exclusively humanitarian mandate that stems from the Geneva Conventions of 1949. It helps people around the world affected by armed conflict and other violence, doing everything it can to protect their lives and dignity and to relieve their suffering, often alongside its Red Cross and Red Crescent partners.

For more information, please contact:

Ala’a Nayel, tel: +965 96673614, email: anayel@icrc.org