By GHAZANFAR ALI KHAN | ARAB NEWS

RIYADH: Several Islamic aid organizations including the Riyadh-based World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will meet in Nairobi on Monday with a mission to lead international efforts to help starving people in the Horn of Africa region including Somalia.

Several UN agencies will also attend the meeting to rush aid and to map out a future strategy jointly for those African nations that have been worst hit by the famine this year.

Addressing a press conference in Riyadh Tuesday night, Saleh S. Al-Wohaibi, WAMY’s secretary general, said Saudi aid agencies including NGOs have been working to save the lives of more than 10 million people fighting for survival, mainly in the arid regions of Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and northern Kenya.

Al-Wohaibi was speaking during a press conference convened in Riyadh ahead of an interfaith dialogue event on Sunday in the capital. The WAMY dialogue, he said, would be attended by about 500 guests this year including 21 ambassadors and 73 other foreign diplomats as well as 170 leading businessmen and donors.

Japanese Ambassador Shigeru Endo and Argentine Ambassador Jaime Sergio Cerda will be keynote speakers. Ibrahim Al-Ghofaili, a leading Saudi businessman, will also address the audience. read more

Saleh Al-Wohaibi