Saudi Arabia assumed the presidency of the OCHA Donor Support Group after the Netherlands from July 2022 to June 2023. Head of Saudi Arabia's team to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Donor Support Group and Assistant Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) for Planning and Development Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi took over the presidency of the group from the current president, the Netherlands, during a high-level meeting of the Donor Support Group in The Hague on Wednesday. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, directors of sectors at the office of the Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, and representatives of 30 countries of member states in the group were present. Saudi Arabia will chair the group between July 2022 and June 2023. Dr. Al-Ghamdi delivered a speech highlighting the Kingdom's humanitarian and development efforts at the international level. He said the Kingdom offered development aid to more than 156 countries with a total value of $96 billion. At the humanitarian level, Saudi Arabia in 2021 ranked third at the international level in terms of humanitarian assistance according to the UN Financial Tracking Service by offering humanitarian assistance to more than 84 developing countries. Al-Ghamdi emphasized that Saudi Arabia's action plan will seek to continue the efforts of the Dutch presidency in close cooperation with members of the group to put the final touches on the strategic plan before its implementation. — SG
