NEW YORK — Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Ambassador Abdullah bin Yahya Al-Muallami participated in the second virtual meeting of the Arab Group recently to discuss joint efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on achieving the sustainable development goals.

The meeting was also attended by the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Muhammad, the Vice President of the World Bank Group for the Middle East and North Africa, Ferid Belhaj, and the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock.

In his speech during the meeting, Ambassador Al-Muallami highlighted the efforts made by Saudi Arabia in combating COVID-19 pandemic in cooperation with the international bodies and the United Nations to reduce its impacts. He urged the Arab states to support the Saudi proposal backed by a number of countries on the united response against global health threats in fighting COVID-19.

UN envoy Amina Muhammad praised the efforts of Saudi Arabia during its presidency of G20, welcoming the outcomes of the extraordinary virtual summit held under the chairmanship of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman with an aim to coordinate international efforts to address the health and economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic.

Amina Mohamed also expressed her thanks and appreciation for the two-week cease-fire declaration announced by Saudi Arabia on behalf of Legitimacy in Yemen in a bid to back the efforts of the Special Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. — SPA