Kuwait’s leading humanitarian initiatives not new: ambassador – Al-Maatouq calls for coordination to relieve Yemenis

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CAIRO, Feb 26, (KUNA): Kuwait’s Ambassador to Egypt, Salem Ghassab Al-Zamanan said the leading humanitarian initiatives are not new to Kuwait, its people nor to its history, indicating that they continue the path of goodness pursued by parents and grandparents.

Al-Zamanan said in a speech last night at the opening of a ceremony held by Ibrahim Tahir Al-Baghli Foundation to honor sons of Kuwaiti women residing in Egypt under the slogan (You Are In Our Hearts) coinciding with the national holidays of Kuwait.

The ambassador added that the humanitarian action has become a practical model to be followed by other countries of the world and drew a clear-cut picture on Kuwait’s past and present. He said that such had prompted the United Nations to nominate His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for the title of a “Humanitarian Leader”, in a unique gesture expressing an international consensus on a brilliant international figure who won the respect and admiration of world leaders and peoples. He said that Kuwait Embassy in Egypt was keen to participate in this celebration stemming from the role it plays to serve interests of Kuwaitis and to overcome their obstacles.

For his part, Chairman of Ibrahim Tahir Al-Baghli Foundation for the Obedient Son, Ibrahim Al-Baghli said the anniversary of the national holidays “reminds us of the joy of freedom and to renew our loyalty and love to our leader.” He stated that the foundation wanted to initiate activities for the 2016 to honor the children of Kuwaiti mothers residing in Egypt coinciding with the current Kuwait’s national celebrations for the sake of consolidation social work rules and solidarity between the private sector and state institutions and civil society organizations as well as to spread social virtues, loyalty and belonging to the homeland.

Meanwhile, President of the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) and (Kuwait) Amiri Diwan Adviser Dr Abdullah Al-Maatouq affirmed on Wednesday necessity of coordination among philanthropic organizations to alleviate Yemeni people’s hardships.

Dr Al-Maatouq, also envoy of the UN Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, warned during a broad conference on the humanitarian crisis in Yemen that shortage of financial resources for humanitarian operations in Yemen would lead to dire consequences, in shadow of horrific statistics showing that 80 percent of the 26 million Yemeni people have been harmed by the ongoing crisis. Up to 60 percent of them are under the line of poverty, he said.

Acknowledging that launching major humanitarian initiatives will be hard without a political settlement, Dr Al-Maatouq expressed his belief that efforts by the philanthropic organizations could sooth the Yemenis’ suffering.

The State of Kuwait, in line with guidelines by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, formed, following flare-up of the Syrian crisis in 2011, the Higher Committee for Relieving the Syrian People and unifying humanitarian efforts in this respect by all Kuwaiti associations.

He indicated that the commission, when the Yemeni warfare erupted, was re-named as the Higher Kuwaiti Relief Committee, turning into an umbrella for all Kuwaiti humanitarian work, in partnership, with other parties worldwide.

The higher committee had held a series of meetings to examine the humanitarian situation in Yemen, he said, noting that Yemeni activists had taken part in some of the sessions, assessing the Yemenis’ basic needs.

Kuwait has also allotted USD 100 million for supporting “the humanitarian situation in Yemen.” The higher committee was tasked with disbursing the sum.

Currently, the Kuwaiti commission is executing a large number of relief operations in Yemen, Dr Al-Maatouq said, noting the activities include health, water and irrigation projects.

He called on the international community to exert pressure on all Yemeni parties to find a political settlement to the crisis, according to the GCC initiative and the Security Council resolution 2216 as well as outcome of the Yemeni-Yemeni dialogue.

The three-day conference is co-organized by Qatar Charitable Association and a number of international and regional philanthropic organizations. It aims at exchanging information about the Yemenis’ needs and establishing coordination to ensure dispatch of necessities to the war-haggard people.

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