RIYADH, 17 May 2005 — Dr. Saleh Al-Towaijry, acting head of the Red Crescent Society, met on Sunday with Jakob Kellenberger, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Riyadh.
Kellenberger started his visit by meeting with Prince Salman. Other items on his agenda include holding talks with Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Sultan as well as other officials from the government. Kellenberger will also meet with the Shoura Council and the Saudi Red Crescent Society officials.
Kellenberger’s visit, his second since 2003, illustrates the importance the organization attaches to its relationship with Saudi Arabia and its desire to enhance cooperation with the Kingdom. Some of the ICRC’s most extensive and delicate humanitarian operations take place in the Arab world. As an impartial, neutral and independent organization its mandate is to protect and assist victims of conflict and armed violence.
Meanwhile, Michel Meyer, head of ICRC’s regional delegation for the Arabian Peninsula, and Dr. Amer Al-Zemaly, ICRC adviser for Islamic World Affairs, visited Riyadh to attend a seminar hosted by Naif Arab University for Security Sciences. They met with lawyer Kateb Al-Shammary, head of the Saudi lawyers team for following up the cases of Saudi Detainees in Guantanamo. This comes as a follow-up on previous meetings to update Al-Shammary on the ICRC’s specific humanitarian mandate with regard to detainees at Guantanamo.
