Saudi Arabia gives UN $100m ‘to fight terrorism’

Saudi Arabia has handed over a cheque for $100m to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help finance the UN’s centre to combat global terrorism.

The UN chief welcomed the gift at a ceremony in his office and said the recent upsurge in terrorism in a number of countries and regions – most dramatically, the Islamic State group’s takeover of a large swath of Syria and Iraq – “underscores the challenge before us”.

Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to the United States, Adel al-Jubeir, who presented the cheque with the Saudi UN ambassador, stressed that “terrorism is a scourge and an evil that affects all of us.”

He said it can only be dealt with if all countries and peoples unite to deal with the threat.

“We believe that the United Nations can play a very strong and very effective role in mobilising the efforts of the world to counter this evil,” al-Jubeir said. - Punch News