The UAE is seeking to bridge the global gap left by humanitarian funding shortages by turning to private capital “looking for somewhere useful to go”, a senior Emirati official told The National.
In an interview at the UAE mission on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Badr Jafar, the UAE's Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy, said his country aims to bridge the two by bringing together investors, donors and government.
“When the world talks about development, business and philanthropy must be in the room,” Mr Jafar said. “Official aid fell by almost a quarter last year, the largest drop on record, while there has never been more private capital looking for somewhere useful to go. Someone has to connect the two.”
Despite the growing need for humanitarian assistance driven by conflicts and climate disasters, global aid from OECD donor countries fell by 23 per cent last year, the steepest annual decline on record. Within that, humanitarian aid fell the most – 36 per cent – with projections suggesting further reductions.
In contrast, the UAE was among a small group of countries outside the traditional Western donor bloc that increased their aid in 2025, directing funds towards regional crises including Gaza and the West Bank.
Mr Jafar said his country will continue to offer a “table that people will come to” to resolve this gap and “get philanthropy and investment pulling in the same direction”.
During a week of high-level diplomacy at UNGA, he said the UAE brought together business executives, investors and foundations on the topics of AI and water – two major elements of the country's foreign policy agenda.
Mr Jafar spoke to The National before a partnership was signed between the Emirates Foundation and the Responsible AI Foundation, aimed at harnessing the technology for global good. The signing took place at a meeting on AI, philanthropy and inclusive growth at the UAE's mission to the UN.
“None of it is about simply announcements. It is about leaving here with projects, owners, and dates,” Mr Jafar said. “That is the spirit our country was built on. Decide, deliver, and let the results do the talking."
When asked to describe UAE diplomacy in one word, Mr Jafar said: “connection”. He said this approach, long adopted by the UAE in an increasingly fragmented world, is what allows it to foster conversations “that could not have happened anywhere else” and deliver results.
“It comes from who we are,” said Mr Jafar. “This country has always made its living by connecting people who might otherwise have never met, East and west, north and south, and now government, business and philanthropy at the same table.”
