UAE should be proud of its record in giving

The UAE is a rich country, and it has ambitious plans for its people. However, it is also an essential part of the country's psyche that it fully recognises its duty to support those who are less well off. The UAE's record in helping the unfortunate or downtrodden of the world is exceptional, but is often overlooked, in part because the country's leaders are very modest in their style of giving.

It was important that Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan made clear last week to the UN General Assembly the extent of the UAE's donations. He reiterated the statement made by Minister of State Dr Maitha Al Shamsi who told the General Assembly in April that the UAE gave just under $6 billion in overseas assistance, which is about 3.6 per cent of its GNP. This is over four times more than the 0.7 per cent of GNP that the developed nations target.

UN aid chief Sir John Holmes has denied the UAE's statements, describing them as "highly dubious". Shaikh Abdullah took issue with this, and said "foreign aid occupies an important place on our national agenda" and he listed the many ways that the UAE gives aid, including financial and humanitarian assistance, development and infrastructure projects, helping those who have suffered natural disasters.

A lot of this aid passes through the UN Office of Humanitarian Affairs and through the UAE's contributions to the UN's specialised agencies and programmes.

But there are many other routes, such as the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Khalifa Humanitarian Foundation, the Zayed Humanitarian Foundation, the UAE Red Crescent, the Mohammad Bin Rashid Humanitarian Foundation, and the new Noor Dubai initiative.