VIDEO: Bill Gates lauds cooperation with Saudi Arabia on poverty alleviation

Billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Bill Gates has highlighted the level of cooperation that exists between his organization and the government and organizations in Saudi Arabia on polio eradication programs and other philanthropic activities that lift people out of poverty.

“In Saudi Arabia, we also recently launched a joint initiative with the Crown Prince’s foundation called the Misk Grand Challenges, which calls for innovation from across the world to empower youth,” he said in a video message.

He said that all of these collaborations are very important because they allow us to learn from people who bring a different perspective than us. “We are coming together in these initiatives with the same goals, which is to help people lift themselves out of poverty,” he said.

The Misk deal

In June 2016, Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Chairman of the Riyadh-based MiSK Foundation for charity, inked a cooperation deal with Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The deal was signed during Mohammed bin Salman’s two-week visit to the United States. It includes training Saudis in the field of charity and help implement the best governance procedures and develop the social work for charity in Saudi Arabia.