UAE humanitarian aid for Rohingyas and the underprivileged

Good cause: UAE Ambassador to Malaysia Khalid Al-Ghaith (left) and Syed Hamid (second from left) handing out school bags and uniforms to some of the Rohingya children at their school in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: The United Arab Emirates, which was the world’s largest foreign aid donor in 2017, gave RM100,000 worth of back-to-school items to 250 Rohingya students here as part of its US$1mil humanitarian aid in Malaysia.

UAE Ambassador to Malaysia Khalid Al-Ghaith and former minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar were at the school in Ampang recently to hand out the items to the students in the last humanitarian aid initiative for the year, on behalf of the Abu Dhabi-based Khalifa Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

The UAE also supplied medical equipment, medicine and vehicles in collaboration with Malaysia for Rohingyas at the Cox’s Bazar refugee camp in Bangladesh.

During the holy month of Ramadan, UAE charities through its embassy here hosted buka puasa events for Rohingyas in Malaysia and underprivileged children, besides delivering food to mosques here, in Malacca, Pahang and other states.

Last month, the Sharjah Charity International through the UAE embassy presented a RM191,000 donation to An-Najjah Welfare Home here for the orphanage’s rental, tuition fees, maintenance charges and painting costs.

Humanitarian aid aside, bilateral ties between the UAE and Malaysia have reached the level of strategic partnership in recent years.

During the last National Day celebration, Khalid Al-Ghaith said the UAE is Malaysia’s largest trading partner in West Asia and Middle East.

“Our bilateral trade last year was valued at US$6.1bil which is a 15% increase from the previous year, with the UAE re-exporting US$3.5bil worth of Malaysian products to the global market,” he said.

UAE Ambassador to Malaysia Khalid Al-Ghaith paid courtesy calls on Economics Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali (pic left), and International Trade and Industry Minister Darell Leiking.

Earlier this month, the ambassador attended the launch of Mubadala Petroleum Ltd’s offshore platforms at the Sapura Energy plant in Lumut, under the investment partnership between UAE-based Mubadala and Sapura Energy Malaysia.

He paid courtesy calls on Perak Ruler Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah, Economics Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Darell Leiking and Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu to further enhance mutual co-operation and strengthen bilateral relations.

These are some of the milestones achieved by the UAE in 2018, which is referred to as Year of Zayed, coinciding with the centenary birth of the founding father of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Ah Nahyan (1918-2004).

It was a double celebration for the UAE on its national day as the UAE passport was ranked No. 1 in the world according to the World Passport Index, reaching 167 countries visa-free.

For five consecutive years, the UAE is the world’s largest foreign aid donor in 2017, relative to its gross national income according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The UAE provided development aid amounting to RM21.93bil to 147 countries.

On Dec 20, Dubai International Airport reached a major milestone when it welcomed its one billionth passenger.

Khalid Al-Ghaith said the UAE is looking forward to welcome millions more tourists to the Dubai Expo 2020.

He will lead the UAE embassy here to usher in 2019 as the Year of Tolerance with more challenges ahead and he looks forward to strong participation from Malaysia in the 2020 expo to reflect the country’s progress and achievements.