The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced its commitment to provide free surgeries for Nigerian citizens as part of the Nur-Saudi Voluntary Campaign in Nigeria as it celebrates its 93rd National Day celebration at the ambassador, Mr Faisal Alghamdi’s residence in Abuja.
He noted that this initiative was approved by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman Al Saud, in 2022.
Nairametrics reports that the Kingdom’s national day is celebrated every year on Sept. 23rd, but since the day fell on a Saturday, it was celebrated on Sept. 25.
The celebration commemorated the unification of all regions of the Kingdom by King Abdulaziz Al Saud. It was attended by government officials, heads of diplomatic missions, representatives from international organizations, prominent business figures, and other distinguished guests.
What he said
Alghamdi said,
- “The campaign will be executed through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) and it will be executed in stages.
- “The first stage had been executed which targeted combating blindness and its causes, in addition to a large number of open-heart and urology surgeries.
- “In this regard, I would like to congratulate the parents of the Nigerian conjoined twins on the successful separation surgery.
- “The surgery done will make it the 56th surgery performed by the Kingdom in separating conjoined twins from across the world,” he said.
Strengthening bilateral relations
Addressing the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Alghamdi emphasized that these historic ties, which date back to 1961, have continued to strengthen.
He expressed confidence that the relationship would further flourish under the new government as he highlighted the importance of mutual visits in enhancing bilateral relations across various levels.
Ambassador Alghamdi pointed out that in 2022, approximately 200,000 Nigerians travelled to Saudi Arabia, with 95,000 of them being pilgrims and over 90,000 on minor pilgrimage.
During the same period, Saudi Arabia granted 200 scholarships to Nigerian students, both male and female. Additionally, the trade volume between the two nations exceeded $600 million.
