UAE Foreign Assistance: A Source of pride and a cause for hope

Since its creation, the UAE has always come to the aid of poor and defenseless people around the world. It has supported them financially as well as socially in order for them to move forward, without expecting anything in return.
Over the past few years, the type of aid which the UAE sent out has changed dramatically. It has gone from purely material to help in the form of medical training of cadres and other professional staff.
Just recently, the UAE has dispatched three flights carrying on board more than 105 tons of critical emergency relief and aid to help the Lebanese people after Beirut blast and support the ongoing efforts of medical cadres, who are tirelessly working on the ground to rescue the injured and those affected by the disastrous explosions.
The UAE has done so in cooperation with active international organizations and made sure that the assistance would reach only those affected to alleviate the suffering of the Lebanese people, who have gone through the worst due to the dominance of an armed group classified as terrorist by many organizations and countries in the world.
Since day one, the UAE’s foreign aid aimed to reduce poverty, improve the lives of underprivileged communities, alleviate their destitution, spread stability, peace and prosperity in the region, and develop the UAE’s relations with other countries.
For example, the UAE provided foreign aid worth more than AED 28.5 billion (US$ 7.79 billion) in 2018 alone, targeting 42 countries around the world, 50% of which are to support peace, justice initiatives and poverty eradication.
Make no mistakes, such policies have been carefully developed to achieve the country’s noble goals and to that end, the UAE continues to launch local and international initiatives. Just recently, the UAE has opened the Mohammed bin Rashid Medical Research Institute, the UAE’s first independent biomedical research centre, with an initial investment of Dh300 million.
This is in addition to the “Waterfall Initiative,” the largest of its kind initiative to offer a virtual medical training across 14 medical sectors and deliver continuous education for around 1 million doctors, physicians, pharmacists, technicians, and specialists in the hospital management sector and the humanitarian field.
As part of the initiative, specialized educational sessions, training workshops, seminars and lectures will be held to enhance participants’ skillset, foster their expertise and keep them aware of the latest developments in their field.
This is what the UAE’s policies and strategies are all about. It is all to advance and support the Arab and Islamic worlds as well as the entire humankind in the face of conflicts and imposing influence by force.