ABU DHABI // The country has made a historic leap after being named the world’s biggest donor, said Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister.
In August, the UAE was unofficially named the world’s largest donor of development assistance in proportion to its gross national income (GNI).
And this week a report released by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development made it official.
Sheikh Mansour, also Minister of Presidential Affairs, said the report affirmed the UAE’s worthiness to win the first position as the world’s largest donor country of official development assistance, making a leap that no other DAC member state has made in the past 50 years
Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary general of Emirates Red Crescent, said he was not surprised by the UAE’s ranking.
“This was expected. Aid giving from the UAE is ongoing and will never stop. It is one of the country’s primary goals and a priority,” he said. “The UAE is a partner when it comes to humanitarian work.”
The UAE exceeded the United Nations’ target of 0.7 per cent official development assistance in proportion to its GNI ratio by donating Dh19.84 billion, representing 1.34 per cent of its GNI for official development assistance in 2013 and beating Norway, the second-largest donor with a 1.07 per cent ratio.
France was the last DAC member country to achieve this ratio, in 1961.
Sheikh Mansour spoke of the UAE’s legacy of supporting international development efforts and responding to global crises. He credited the leadership for its generous contributions to all international development arenas.
Sheikh Mansour said that since its establishment in 1971, the UAE has been contributing to supporting international sustainable development efforts and humanitarian response to global crises and disasters.
He said that this was based on the humanitarian philosophy of the UAE’s wise leadership, and generous contributions in the past decades to all international development arenas.
These, he said, secured the lives of millions of people around the world, establishing international peace and security, creating better opportunities and a brighter future for people in developing countries.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development and head of the UAE Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, said the results of the report assert the UAE’s leadership and precedence in all international development forums, and establish the UAE’s global status in an international development arena.
Sheikha Lubna said the total UAE humanitarian aid provided to the Syrian crisis from 2012 to mid-2014 had reached Dh580 million.
Ahmed Al Dhaheri, head of the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, which provides international aid, had said that such recognition was needed as the UAE was a large donor but not all donations were noted.
osalem@thenational.ae
