On Thursday, the US and Saudi Arabia signed a joint statement of support to each provide $1 million to assist Rohingya refugees — Muslims who fled religious persecution and now reside in the Cox’s Bazar area of Bangladesh — and the Bangladeshi communities hosting them. This first-of-its-kind joint effort is administered by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Saudi Arabia’s aid agency KSrelief. Through our implementing partner, the UN World Food Programme, together we will rehabilitate shelters and provide disaster preparedness training to vulnerable communities and local government in a region sadly prone to deadly, extreme weather. I would like to thank KSrelief Supervisor General Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah for his effort to make this agreement possible. The joint statement of support is noteworthy because it represents the first time our two aid agencies have worked jointly on a humanitarian assistance project. But it is not the first time we have worked side-by-side to deliver critical assistance to the people who need it most. The US is proud to join hands with Saudi Arabia in providing humanitarian assistance. John Abizaid In Yemen, the US and Saudi Arabia are working to provide life-saving aid to a society ravaged by conflict. Through USAID and KSrelief, we each offer emergency food relief to millions of Yemenis, and support the Yemeni government’s ability to provide essential services to its people. In Syria, the US and Saudi Arabia have been working to address the needs of internally displaced and other vulnerable people, today numbering over 12 million Syrians. Through USAID, the US provides emergency food, health, water and sanitation assistance, while KSrelief is at the forefront of the education sector, helping to meet the needs of Syria’s “lost generation” of youth with supplies and services to over 100,000 schoolchildren in need. The US is proud to join hands with Saudi Arabia in providing humanitarian assistance. Our partnership on the project we announced on Thursday — along with similar work we are doing in parallel around the world — is a manifestation of the broad and enduring partnership between the two countries. That relationship, which began 75 years ago in a shipboard meeting between King Abdul Aziz and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, works to provide not only life-sustaining assistance, but to support peace and stability in the region and beyond. John Abizaid is US ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view