UAE Embassies In Lebanon, New Zealand Hold Ramadan Iftar Events

ABU DHABI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News / WAM - 26th May, 2019) Hamad Saeed Sultan Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, organised a Ramadan Iftar celebrating 'Zayed Humanitarian Work Day', which benefited some 1,000 orphans, people of determination and underprivileged families. The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation sponsored the event.

Held at the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Park in Sidon, the Iftar was attended by members of parliament Michel Mousa and Bilal Al Abdullah, as well as Nasser Hamoud, Representative of the Future Bloc, Bahia Hariri, Coordinator of the Future Movement of the South, Mansour Daw, Governor of the South, Mohammed Al Saud, Mayor of Sidon, Sheikh Madar Al Habal, Mufti of Tyre, Archbishop Elias Kfoury, Dr. Abdulrahman Al Bizri, and several heads of municipalities and social associations, along with many religious, municipal and popular figures.

In a speech, Al Shamsi said that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was an Arab and international icon of humanitarian work, who shaped the UAE's internal and foreign policies and promoted its image as a leading donor country.

"During Zayed Humanitarian Work Day, we remember the Founding Father, an inspiring leader who founded the UAE and led its development, because he believed in tolerance, openness and coexistence," he added, stressing that the people of the UAE and the rest of the world will never forget Sheikh Zayed's achievements.

Sheikh Zayed was an example of giving without discrimination, Al Shamsi said, noting that the UAE's development and charity projects in Lebanon include a demining project launched in 2000 in the south of the country.

The UAE Embassy in New Zealand also sponsored a Ramadan Iftar project, which saw the distribution of food parcels in many cities in New Zealand and Fiji.

As part of the project, Sharjah Charity International sponsored Iftar events held at the Al Nour and Linwood mosques in Christchurch, and supervised Ramadan Iftar events funded by the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, in the Omar Mosque in Auckland, the Manwati Islamic Centre Mosque in Palmerston North, and the mosques in the Fijian capital, Suva, and Lautoka, Western Fiji.

The embassy also supervised the distribution of food parcels to individuals in need in Auckland and Lautoka, funded by the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

"These charity initiatives in New Zealand and Fiji coincide with Zayed Humanitarian Work Day, which aims to revive the principles of the Founding Leader," said Saleh Ahmed Salem Al Zareem Al Suwaidi, UAE Ambassador to New Zealand and Non-Resident Ambassador to Fiji.