KSA gifts 250 tons of dates to Sri Lanka

RIYADH: The Kingdom has gifted 250 tons of dates to Sri Lanka for distribution at mosques in the country during the holy month of Ramadan.
Minister of Posts and Islamic Affairs M.H Abdul Haleem has told Arab News from Colombo that he received the consignment from Saudi Ambassador in Colombo Abdulaziz Bin Abdulrahman Al-Jammaz.
He said that this donation was a token of appreciation from the Saudi government. “We are thankful to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and his government for continuing the annual supply of dates to Sri Lankan Muslims.”
The minister said that this year, Sri Lanka got 50 metric tons more than last year. “We are happy the dates offered by King Salman will be consumed by Muslims during iftar (breaking of the fast). Those Muslims will always pray for a long life of King Salman and the prosperity of the Kingdom,” he said.
Around 3,500 mosques are spread throughout the country and eight percent of the island’s 22 million population is Muslim.
The minister said the Kingdom has been helping Sri Lanka in good and bad times. “With Saudi assistance, we have completed a SR 75-million epilepsy and diagnosis hospital in Colombo, the first of its kind in Sri Lanka.”
He said the Saudi Fund For Development (SFD) gave an additional grant of SR11 million for the development of health facilities at the neuro-trauma hospital, which was built with SR40 million worth of Saudi aid in Colombo.
Following the tsunami disaster in Sri Lanka in 2004, the Kingdom immediately sent eight flights loaded with relief material and pledged to construct houses for survivors.
The Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA), which opened an office following the disaster, donated 15 ambulances and sent a large consignment of medicines and medical apparatus to hospitals in the tsunami-affected areas.
It also donated 300,000 sets of school uniforms for children affected by the disaster.
A bridge costing SR 440 million was built in Kinniya with the Saudi aid , the minister said.
Sri Lanka Ambassador Mohamed Hussein Mohamed said: “Saudi Arabia and its leadership will remain in the hearts of Sri Lankan Muslims for the assistance given from time to time for the Muslim community in particular and the country in general.”