Kerala: The UAE has announced relief and assistance for the state of Kerala, currently reeling under a massive natural calamity.
Speaking exclusively to ‘India Today’, Dr. Ahmad Abdul Rahman Al Banna, the UAE Ambassador to India said that the UAE has formed a national emergency committee to provide relief assistance to people affected by the floods in the South Indian state.
The committee will be chaired by the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and include representatives from UAE’s humanitarian organisations, he noted
“UAE people and Indian people are one community. As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai announced, we will stand with our friends in this hardship that the state of Kerala is going through, due to heavy rain and floods. We will do whatever we can do.”
UAE has around three million Indian residents living and working in the country, of whom a large percentage are Keralites.
Ambassador Al Banna said that they are waiting for the green signal from the concerned authorities to start relief and assistance work. “We are in touch with local authorities in Kerala and the federal authority (central government). We will coordinate with them and follow the rules and regulations in India in providing aid, medical supplies and relief material,” he said.
Earlier, around 100 UAE nationals were rescued from different parts of Kerala and taken to Kochi from where they will either be airlifted or taken by bus to Thiruvananthapuram, to be flown back to their country.
UAE has also created an emergency hotline for Keralites who have family in or travelling to Kerala.
