UAE Affirms Long-term Commitment To Palestinian People, UNRWA

The UAE affirmed its long-term commitment to the Palestinian people and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, during an open discussion held by the Security Council, on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

NEW YORK, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 26th Jul, 2018) The UAE affirmed its long-term commitment to the Palestinian people and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA, during an open discussion held by the Security Council, on the situation in the middle East, including the Palestinian issue.

The UAE’s financial contributions to the UNRWA in 2017 reached US$26.7 million, including substantial contributions from the UAE government and Emirati organisations, such as the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, and Dubai Cares.

The UAE also provided additional contributions to Palestine in 2017, amounting to $98.7 million in the form of bilateral aid while the total Emirati aid provided to the Palestinian people during the same year reached $125 million.

Since the start of 2018, the UAE pledged to provide an additional $75 million to Palestine, included $50 million to the UNRWA.

Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that as well as the significant and ongoing financial aid provided to the Palestinian people, the UAE also supports the efforts of the international community to solve the conflict and restart political dialogue, to achieve peace.

The UAE is among the top five donor countries that provided aid to the UNRWA in 2017, according to the IRIN news Agency, a non-profit organisation that reports on humanitarian issues.