Saudi rights chief receives head of EU delegation

RIYADH: Patrick Simonnet, head of the EU delegation to Saudi Arabia, called on Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad, president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, at his office in Riyadh on Tuesday. During the meeting, they discussed aspects of cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the EU in the fields of human rights.

Praising the depth of bilateral relations, they discussed ways to boost ties.

Al-Awwad highlighted the Kingdom’s efforts, under the leadership of the king and crown prince, in supporting human rights. He pointed to developments in the Kingdom and pioneering steps toward achieving sustainable development on making human beings the focus of development in accordance with Vision 2030, which aims to achieve the overall development of a better future for the country.

Several initiatives have been launched that have helped boost the country’s international ranking in human rights reports, including one on human trafficking published by the US State Department.

In addition, a World Bank report titled “Women, Business and the Law 2020” ranked the Kingdom first out of 190 countries in terms of progress and reforms in the field of the empowerment of women and the preservation

of their rights.