The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Monday pledged its commitment to organize free surgeries for Nigerian citizens under the Nur-Saudi Voluntary Campaign in Nigeria.
Saudi Arabia’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Faisal Alghamdi, made the announcement at the Kingdom’s 93rd National Day celebration in Abuja on Monday.
He said that the Custodian of the two Holy mosques, King Salman Al Saud, had in 2022 approved the Nur-Saudi voluntary campaign in Nigeria.
The envoy added that the campaign will be executed through King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, 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.
He said the surgery done will make it the 56th surgery performed by the Kingdom in separating conjoined twins from across the world.
Speaking on the bilateral relations between Nigeria and Saudi Arabia, the Ambassador said that the historic bonds between both countries had been firmly growing since 1961.
Alghamdi said that the extant relations would continue to grow under the government of President Bola Tinubu.
Alghamdi also added that, in 2022, about 200,000 Nigerians visited Saudi Arabia, 95,000 of them pilgrims, and more than 90,000 on minor pilgrimage.
In the same period, the Kingdom had given 200 scholarships to Nigerian students, while the trade volume between the Kingdom and Nigeria is over $600 million.
Furthermore, the anniversary was marked due to the unification of all parts of the Kingdom by King Abdulaziz Al Saud.
The celebration was attended by government officials, heads of diplomatic missions and international organizations, notable businessmen and women, amongst others.
