Europeans win in UN clash with US over rival Ukraine resolutions

MOSCOW: Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday thanked Grand Mufti of Russia Talgat Tadzhuddin for his efforts in fostering interfaith unity and harmony among the country’s diverse religious communities.

During a meeting at the Kremlin, Putin acknowledged the contributions of Tadzhuddin and other Muslim leaders in strengthening religious accord across the country, state news agency TASS reported.

“I would like to personally thank you and all Muslim leaders for the contribution you and other spiritual leaders are making to interreligious unity and accord between the peoples of Russia,” the president said.

Although a secular state under its constitution, Russia recognizes the role of religious institutions in society. The law guarantees freedom of religion, with all religious associations operating separately from the state while enjoying equal status.

Christianity remains the dominant faith in Russia, with Orthodox Christianity as the largest denomination. Islam is the second-largest religion, with most Russian Muslims adhering to Sunni Islam.

The Russian government continues to support traditional religions by restoring historic religious sites damaged during the Soviet era and facilitating the establishment of spiritual education institutions, TASS said.

JAKARTA: Saudi Arabia and Indonesia signed on Monday a new agreement on the training and exchange of medical workers, as the Southeast Asian nation seeks closer partnership with the Kingdom to improve its healthcare system.

The Kingdom’s Health Minister Fahad Abdulrahman Al-Jalajel is on a two-day visit to Indonesia, leading a high-level delegation of officials.

As a part of the visit, Al-Jalajel and his Indonesian counterpart, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, held talks in Jakarta and witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on health workforce cooperation between their countries.

“The MoU covered various areas of cooperation, including collaboration for Saudi doctors to practice in Indonesia, and for Indonesian doctors to study in Saudi Arabia,” the Indonesian Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The deal also covers nursing scholarships, a fellowship program and exchange of health workers, it added.

“Through the exchange of health workforce, we hope to increase the standard of education and health services, while also strengthening the capacity of our human resources here in Indonesia,” Sadikin said after the bilateral meeting.

Saudi Arabia-Indonesia ties in the healthcare sector have been growing over the years. 

Last year, Saudi doctors trained their Indonesian health colleagues in child heart surgery and helped expand access to pediatric cardiac care in the country, through programs sponsored by KSrelief, the Kingdom’s aid agency. 

Sadikin hopes more Saudi doctors will come to Indonesia for child heart surgeries, as only half of an estimated 12,000 Indonesian children who are born with cardiac disease get treatment. 

“Around 6,000 among them are uncared for and die as a result. I hope more doctors from KSrelief will come and help increase the number of cardiac surgeries in Indonesia,” he said. 

The Saudi Arabia delegation also signed several agreements with Indonesia universities to train medical workers from the two countries. 

“This cooperation will cover training in both countries, with the hopes that it will create a better and improved health workforce,” Al-Jalajel said.