UAE aid to Egypt can be a test case

By studying which bit of the basket was best-value, the world can rewrite the rules of international aid

UAE's development projects in Egypt offer an opportunity to explore the most effective aid method. Photo: WAM

As a percentage of gross national income, no country in the world gives more money in aid than the United Arab Emirates. That should be a source of pride to everyone here — we help people on every continent, from the Americas to Oceania.

More broadly though, the nature of international aid is evolving. For decades, money has flowed from the rich world to the poor. But two things have changed. The first is the nature of poverty. It has moved from being between countries to within countries. No country can be described as entirely rich nor entirely poor. India is a good example: in the capital New Delhi, enormous wealth exists side by side with terrible deprivation.

The second thing that has changed over the decades is a recognition that money offered in aid has all too often ended up in the pockets of the elite. This means that not only have the poor not been helped, but in countries with dictatorial governments, the power of those dictatorships has actually been entrenched. Money meant for rural roads has ended up buying arms or apartments in Switzerland.

So a better understanding is needed of how to use money to assist the needy. The UAE’s recent assistance to Egypt can serve as a subject of study and Egypt itself as something of an aid laboratory. The vast majority of the UAE’s overseas aid in the past two years has gone to Egypt, as it recovers from one of its most unstable periods in decades.

The UAE has sought to use the money in different ways. There has been straightforward aid, meant for schools, health clinics and housing units. There have been public-private partnerships, in particular the US$40bn housing project that Arabtec Holding, a UAE company, is planning. The intention is to build a million homes. And there was the Dh3.67billion offered to the Central Bank of Egypt to stabilise the banking sector.

It is worth studying these examples, to see which provide the best value. In a country with so much poverty and corruption, what steps most affect the life chances of Egyptians? Working out where and how Emirati aid money was best used in Egypt, could perhaps help determine better aid distribution and the targeting of assistance across the world.