A senior British military officer has praised Saudi Arabia’s G20 leadership as he held talks over the phone with the Kingdom’s Ambassador to the UK, Prince Khalid bin Bandar.
Lt Gen Sir John Lorimer, the UK’s senior defence adviser to the Middle East and North Africa, was told by Prince Khalid about the measures Saudi Arabia had taken to stop the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
Thank you to HRH Prince Khalid @SaudiEmbassyUK who took the time to speak with me to discuss how #COVID19 is effecting #Saudi Arabia and the measures we are taking to fight the virus. I asked him to pass my congratulations to @KingSalman for his strong leadership of the #G20 pic.twitter.com/wB28m6E2g5
— DSAME - Air Marshal Sammy Sampson (@DSAME_Defence) April 1, 2020
“Thank you to HRH Prince Khalid who took the time to speak with me to discuss how COVID19 is affecting Saudi Arabia and the measures we are taking to fight the virus. I asked him to pass my congratulations to King Salman for his strong leadership of G20,” he said.
The Kingdom recently announced it would be providing free treatment to all coronavirus patients in Saudi Arabia even if they had violated residency laws.
The move was welcomed by the World Health Organisation, which “strongly” welcomed the “leadership and solidarity” of Saudi Arabia in the G20.
On Thursday, Lt Gen Lorimer also spoke over the phone with Rami Mortada, the Lebanese Ambassador to the UK. He said the UK is “committed to continuing our relationship with Lebanon”.
In February following talks with senior Lebanese officials, Lt Gen Lorimer said it was crucial the government in Lebanon tackle its “huge economic challenges” as he called for “urgent action”.
أشكر سعادة رامي مرتضى، السفير اللبناني لدى #المملكة_المتحدة🇬🇧، الذي خصص وقتا للحديث معي اليوم. وزارة الدفاع البريطانية🇬🇧 ملتزمة بمواصلة علاقاتنا مع #لبنان🇱🇧، والتي أتطلع إلى مناقشتها مع قائد الجيش اللبناني @LebArmyOfficial العماد جوزيف عون في وقت لاحق من الأسبوع الحالي pic.twitter.com/fM9pfRinsM
— DSAME - Air Marshal Sammy Sampson (@DSAME_Defence) April 2, 2020
