United Nations, Safar 19, 1439, November 08, 2017, SPA -- the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has affirmed that it would continue to be a leader in its support for Palestinian refugees throughout the region and make every effort to find sustainable solutions to financial challenges facing United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) which has an important role in education and youth employment against the dissemination of extremist ideas. This came in a speech delivered yesterday by the member of the Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations Shaher bin Khalid Al-Khanini before Special Political and Decolonization Committee of United Nations on the item "United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East". Al-Khanini pointed out that the Kingdom had provided uninterrupted support for UNRWA in past decades, which makes it the first donor country, and in 2017, the Kingdom donated $ 51 million to finance a number of projects in health, education, social and housing areas, as it has pledged $ 36.9 million for projects to be implemented in 2018. The Kingdom's annual contribution amounts to $ 2 million, he added. -- SPA 11:32 LOCAL TIME 08:32 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w531331