DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has described charitable action as a “common language of compassion” as countries mark World Humanitarian Day.
Sheikh Mohammed said on Thursday that UAE will continue to provide aid to Syrian refugees, which has so far totalled Dh2.6 billion, calling it one of the “most pressing issues”.
The UAE’s Minister of State for Tolerance also reiterated the UAE’s commitment to foreign aid. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi said the late Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, had been a beacon in humanitarian work and that his generosity was followed by the President, Sheikh Khalifa.
“The Founder of the UAE and the builder of its modern renaissance, and his fellow founding fathers, were keen to make humanitarian work a cultural and an immortal value in the hearts of the people of the UAE,” she said, according to the state news agency, Wam.
Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, paid tribute to UAE and international aid workers.
“Delivering life-saving aid would never have been possible without the passion and unwavering commitment of men and women who risk their lives so that others may live and hope for a better tomorrow,” she said.
Since 2011, the UAE gave Dh6.97 billion in humanitarian assistance, said Ms Al Hashimy. It has provided Dh2.56 billion since 2012 in emergency aid to address the Syria crisis, including funds for Syrians who fled to other countries in the region or are internally displaced.
In Yemen, the UAE has provided in the last two years a total of Dh1.5 billion in aid.
Ms Al Hashimy also outlined UAE efforts in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to co-sponsor a wastewater management programme assisting 3,000 families, as well as in the Yemeni governorate of Aden to provide aid and revive the education system there.
In December, the first bi-annual World Humanitarian Forum will be hosted in Dubai’s International Humanitarian City, she said. The city’s UN Humanitarian Response Depot has “by far” the largest UN stockpile of relief items in the world.
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