Saudi Arabia agreed with Kyiv over the weekend on providing an additional humanitarian aid package to Ukraine, following up on the October 2022 pledge Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made during his phone call with the Ukrainian president.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky received in Kyiv on Sunday Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the presidential residence in Kyiv where both parties have signed an agreement for a joint cooperation program and a memorandum of understanding.
At the signing ceremony attended by the head of President Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak, and the Saudi foreign minister, a $100 million- worth agreement for a joint cooperation program was signed to provide Ukraine with humanitarian assistance.
The Saudi top diplomat emphasized that Saudi Arabia is working with Kyiv to mitigate the economic effects of the war in Ukraine.
The agreement was signed by SFD CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad and Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, adviser to the Royal Court and supervisor general of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, as the Kingdom’s representatives and Ukraine’s Energy Minister German Galushchenko, and deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov as Kyiv’s representatives.
Yermak and the Saudi FM also signed a $400 million-worth MoU to aid the European country, including a grant submitted by the Saudi government through the Saudi Fund for Development for the financing of $300 million-worth oil derivatives.
Prince Faisal added that he was also discussing opportunities for continued investment cooperation with the country.
Per the Saudi Press Agency, this reflects the Kingdom’s commitment to support Ukraine and its people – which are fighting against the social and economic challenges the country is going through – and contribute to alleviating the resulting effects.
According to Prince Faisal, Saudi Arabia will continue to discuss opportunities to settle the crisis with all parties along with its efforts to contribute to alleviating the human impact of the conflict.
The Kingdom has maintained a neutral stance since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, calling for de-escalation, offering support to Ukraine while maintaining the status quo of its relationship with Russia, a fellow OPEC+ member, and expressing its willingness to mediate between for a peaceful resolution.
Saudi Crown Prince reiterated that stand in a phone call to Zelensky on Friday, expressing Saudi Arabia’s support of measures that contributed to de-escalation and readiness to continue mediation efforts.
Meanwhile, he has stayed in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss cooperation within OPEC+ in light of the impact of Russian-Ukrainian war developments and maintain the stability of the oil market.
