Abdulrahman Saleh al-Saleh, head of the KRCS’ order and logistics department, spoke at a working meeting on humanitarian cooperation on November 15 that was also attended by CRC first deputy secretary-general Men Neary Sopheak. CRC
The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) commended the government and Cambodian Red Cross (CRC) for their recent responses to natural disasters in Cambodia, as KRCS plans to begin working with the CRC on its humanitarian efforts.
Abdulrahman Saleh al-Saleh, head of the KRCS’ order and logistics department, spoke at a working meeting on humanitarian cooperation on November 15 that was also attended by CRC first deputy secretary-general Men Neary Sopheak.
Al-Saleh said this was the first time that a KRCS delegation had directly visited the CRC headquarters, noting that his organisation is now actively providing humanitarian assistance to national associations in more than 90 member countries of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
“We have seen that the CRC is capable enough to respond to the disasters in [Cambodia],” said al-Saleh.
In particular, from now on, he hopes that the KRCS and CRC will be able to start working together in this humanitarian work.
Al-Saleh also noted that over the years, the KRCS had contacted the CRC to offer assistance but it was hindered by the KRCS’ lack of understanding about what the CRC’s main focuses were. Now that he has met with CRC officials and had this discussion, he said their joint efforts will be able to move forward smoothly.
According to the CRC, on November 15, al-Saleh was also slated to meet with officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance to find out about the support mechanisms for Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital as the KRCS intends to make a donation to the hospital through the CRC.
During the meeting, Neary Sopheak also thanked the KRCS for its interest in helping the CRC and its plans to move forward with cooperative efforts in Cambodia.
“For major emergency tasks such as disaster response to flooding, the government has food reserve system under the control of the finance ministry and the National Committee for Disaster Management [NCDM], which have enough capacity to respond to those disasters,” she said.
She said the CRC needs to look towards the future and build a community that is resilient to disasters, which is a mission that the KRCS would be well-suited to help with.
