Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz al-Assaf announced on September 26 a contribution of $50 million to the core program budget of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) for 2019, according to an UNRWA press release.
It said that in a meeting with UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl on the margins of UN General Assembly in New York, the Foreign Minister reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s position as one of the strongest political and financial supporters of UNRWA. He expressed strong recognition for the work carried out for Palestine refugees.
The announcement matches the extraordinary contribution the Kingdom made to the UNRWA program budget in 2018 and is in addition to generous contributions by Saudi Arabia to UNRWA infrastructure projects across the Agency’s five areas of operations, said the press release. The Commissioner-General expressed his deep appreciation on behalf of the 5.5 million Palestine refuges served by UNRWA.
“The renewed and generous donation by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is of great significance to our Agency. Throughout the summer, as we prepared for the opening of the new scholastic year, we rehabilitated dozens of UNRWA schools with Saudi funding. The crucial contribution announced today will allow us to preserve the right to education of our 532,000 students, as well as other core services to Palestine refugees. We are very grateful for the dynamic partnership and cooperation with the Kingdom,” said Krähenbühl.
During the high-level week of the General Assembly, the Commissioner-General also visited the exhibition, “Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts in supporting refugees around the world” of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, where he discussed with Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Supervisor General, the important UNRWA collaboration with the center.
Krähenbühl also met Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir, Minister of State of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, during the opening session of the General Assembly.
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