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Conjoined Jamaican twins, Azaria and Azora Elson, have departed the island for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where they are scheduled to undergo life-changing separation surgery.

The 20-month-old toddlers are set to undergo the highly delicate procedure at the King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital.

Saudi Arabia's Ambassador to Jamaica, Dr Waleed bin Abdulrahman Alhamoudi, said a team at the hospital on Sunday successfully separated 17-month-old Syrian conjoined twins, Selin and Elin.

That complex eight-hour surgery was conducted by a team of 24 expert consultants and specialists.

Meanwhile, Azaria and Azora, as well as their mother, Iesha McMurray, and a team of medical professionals departed the island on a Medevac flight from the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston on Sunday.

They were expected to arrive in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, yesterday, following a brief stopover in the United Kingdom.

Azaria and Azora are joined at the abdomen - a rare congenital condition occurring in approximately one in every 50,000 to 150,000 live births worldwide.

The girls share a liver and have remained at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) since birth, due to their condition and associated medical complications, including congenital heart abnormalities. Once at the King Abdullah Specialist Children's Hospital, they will undergo extensive medical evaluations in preparation for the complex surgery, which is expected to take place within two months.

The arrangement was made possible through the intervention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, which facilitated dialogue between the UHWI, where the twins were receiving care, and officials of the Government of Saudi Arabia.

Foreign minister Kamina Johnson Smith expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Saudi Arabian Government and King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, for facilitating the twins' surgery and generously covering all associated medical, transportation, and logistical costs.

"This initiative, undertaken by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and, indeed, under the aegis of the Royal Family, is one of the most beautiful ways in which the relationship between countries can be strengthened, because it demonstrates that those who have are able to help those who [don't] have," the minister stated.

She emphasised that the initiative deserves global commendation, recognition, and appreciation.

"We send our prayers for the guidance of the hands and hearts [of the medical team] as they undertake this most delicate and sensitive surgery that has the opportunity to change two lives and all of the lives that surround them. We send every blessing and every prayer for their guidance," Johnson Smith said.