UAE, ICRC sign agreement on humanitarian aid in Yemen

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross to support the humanitarian response plan in Yemen.

NEW YORK // The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation signed a cooperation agreement on Friday with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support the humanitarian response plan in Yemen, state news agency Wam reported.

The agreement was signed by Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, and Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC, on the sidelines of the ordinary session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, held in New York.

The agreement seeks to support the implementation of health, water and sanitation programmes targetting those affected by the crisis in Yemen, and support the ICRC’s efforts to save lives and quickly reach the affected people, especially children and women in Yemen.

Under the agreement, the UAE will provide Dh37 million to the ICRC to support the implementation of the health, water and sanitation programmes targetting affected people in Yemen.

Ms Al Hashemi said: “The signing of this agreement reflects the commitment of the UAE to continue to provide humanitarian aid to those affected by the crisis in Yemen in order to restore its stability in implementation of the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.” She said the grant also reflects the humanitarian efforts shouldered by the UAE to dispatch relief aid to those affected in Yemen, especially children and women. She reiterated that the move comes within the framework of the UAE’s humanitarian and development assistance to the people of Yemen.

The President of the ICRC said the committee appreciates the UAE’s grant, which would meet the critical needs of the people of Yemen. He added that the grant would also help provide drinking water to about two million people, improve the quality of living condition for 40,000 people, as well as rehabilitate roads and irrigation systems.

The two parties agreed to assign a surgical team from the ICRC to work at a hospital to provide emergency treatment, conduct surgeries, manage the hospital and provide treatment to some 56, 000 people with disabilities.

The UAE provided aid worth AED4.34 billion to Yemen, equivalent to US$ 1.20 billion, from April 2015 to July 2016. The provision of such large amounts of foreign aid comes within the framework of humanitarian and development responses of the UAE toward the current crisis in Yemen, to help it overcome this ordeal, support it to restore stability and preserve Yemen’s territorial integrity.