Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to provide active humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan JEDDAH: Saudi Ambassador Dr. Hamad bin Abdullah Khaidair on Saturday presented his credentials to Azerbaijan’s President Illham Aliyev in presence of the country’s foreign minister. The Azeri president hailed the ties between the two countries. He appreciated King Salman for paying attention to and supporting Azerbaijan on various political and economic issues. Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to provide active humanitarian assistance to Azerbaijan. From 1994-1999, Saudi Arabia repeatedly provided assistance to refugees and provided them with food, medicine and other necessities. Several disabled persons of the Karabakh war in 1999 were treated in Saudi Arabia. In 2002, within the framework of projects for the construction of secondary schools in Baku, the “Saudi Fund for Development” extended a loan of SR35.7 million to Azerbaijan. In 2005, the Saudi government provided Azerbaijan financial assistance worth $50,000 for demining operations and also for the rehabilitation of people in the liberated territories of the country.