The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has showed an unprecedented achievement in its overseas aid donations according to the UAE Foreign Aid Report 2013 released on the second of February 2015. UAE’s foreign aid tripled from Dh5.83 billion in 2012 to Dh21.63 billion (US $5.89 billion) in 2013, achieving 270% of increase.
In 2013, UAE foreign aid was allocated toward projects in three assistance categories: development, humanitarian and charity. Development assistance comprised 94.6% of the total aid. More than half of the funding supported the general assistance program, and the major recipients of this type of assistance were Egypt and Palestine. Charitable assistance received 2.9% which provides religious education and supports individuals and small communities. Lastly, humanitarian aid and emergency relief were allocated 2.5%, and countries such as Jordan, Afghanistan and Pakistan received a great portion of humanitarian funding such as food aid, health and shelter due to the states’ instability and conflict. Additionally, according to the report, the continent that received the majority of UAE’s foreign aid was Africa (84%), followed by Asia (13%), global (3%) and the remaining to Europe, Americas, and Oceania.
The top country to receive funding from the UAE in 2013 was Egypt, as the UAE provided financing to development projects, to support the foreign currency reserves and to strengthen the financial system. The UAE Government provided Egypt with a significant sum of Dh16.99 billion and 54 developmental projects were financed by 99.9% of the aid offered. These projects covered Egypt’s bank reforms, commodities import support, infrastructure development, new housing units and employment opportunities for young people, renewable energy projects, as well as health and education. The remaining 0.1% went to charitable assistance for 36 projects that included construction of mosques and schools, providing care to orphans and Ramadan projects.
In February 2015, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) began distributing food packages – funded by UAE aid of Dh55 million in July 2014 for food assistance – to more than 93,000 Palestinian refugees in Damascus. The agreement between the UAE and UNRWA provides two rounds of critical food assistance to conflict-affected Palestinian refugees in Syria. With funding from the UAE, UNRWA has been able to distribute an astounding amount of 630 metric tons of food to refugees, with an upcoming round of distribution planned for this month.
The UAE has been appreciated for its generosity in providing enough contributions to places that are in need. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development, stated that the UAE was the largest foreign aid donor in the world last year in relation to gross national income. The UAE ensured the long-term development of recipient countries by helping their citizens escape poverty, receive education, and improve their health.
