(Abu Dhabi) – While the U.A.E. has a history of helping people in need across the world, it has only recently been acknowledged as one of the world’s top donor countries, according to Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi.
The Minister for International Cooperation and Development said that the U.A.E. has been provisionally named the largest foreign aid-donor country in the world in terms of the ratio of official development assistance to gross national income last year.
“Put simply, this means that on a per capita basis, in the year 2013, the U.A.E. is the largest donor in the world for providing development assistance to countries most in need of aid, as determined by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,” she said.
Sheikha Lubna said the total U.A.E. humanitarian aid provided to help during the Syrian crisis from 2012 to this year has reached AED580 million. “This includes help provided to support refugees in neighbouring countries, such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq. Other significant humanitarian projects include a US$16 million (AED59m) de-mining project in Kandahar, Afghanistan,” she said.
(Courtesy WAM)