The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) emphasized Saudi Arabia’s leading role in humanitarian aid.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl said that the Kingdom contributed greatly to humanitarian work and the support of relief organizations.
He stressed that Saudi Arabia, through its continuous funding of humanitarian relief, has become a partner that contributes to the development of policies and mechanisms of humanitarian action. He also noted that the Kingdom’s large contribution has reduced UNRWA’s deficit from $446 million in early January this year to $21 million.
Krähenbühl was speaking during a news conference held in the Saudi capital to announce a $50 million Saudi grant to the agency. The director of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief), Abdullah Al-Rabeea, jointly signed the memorandum with the UNRWA commissioner.
Al-Rabeea said that the grant was based on the initiative of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz to provide assistance to UNRWA, which seeks to alleviate the suffering of more than 3 million Palestinians by supporting them in education, health, relief and protection in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as in Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
He pointed that the Kingdom has granted in a week $500 million in partnership with the UAE to fill food needs in Yemen and $50 million to support the Palestinians.
Al-Rabeea added that the initiative has reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s leading role in supporting the Palestinian people, noting that Riyadh has already provided aid to Palestine worth more $6 billion, including $250 million allocated to UNRWA.
He also said that the Kingdom has granted more than $86 billion to 79 countries within a period of three years, while KSRelief has extended its aid to 42 countries with more than $2 billion and around 482 projects.
