PRESS RELEASE
3 April 2009
Saudi Arabia contributes US$600,000 to UNRWA
Amman, 03 April 2009
Amman- The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has made a contribution of US$ 600,000 to the United Nations Relief & Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
In a ceremony held this morning at the Saudi Embassy in Amman, the Representative of Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Mr. Peter Ford, received a cheque for the contribution from the Saudi Ambassador in Amman, H. E. Mr. Fahed Al-Zeid. The amount will be used to fund UNRWA's core activities of education, health care, relief and social services the Agency provided for the refugees.
In addition to regular annual contributions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has over the last decade contributed generously to Agency projects – particularly under the Saudi Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian people, through which more than $50 million has been pledged to UNRWA projects in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Expressing UNRWA's appreciation for the new contribution, Mr. Ford said: "We highly value the support given to UNRWA over the years by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As the Agency faces the severe challenges of funding its regular activities on behalf of over 4.5 million refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan, as well as relief and reconstruction in Gaza and rebuilding Nahr El Bared Camp in Lebanon, it will be very much counting on the Kingdom, with its GCC partners, to help it shoulder these burdens. "
The Agency’s regular budget for 2009 is approximately $560 million, and the Agency faces a shortfall of $49 million.
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Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Saudi Arabia
Subject: Assistance, Education and culture, Gaza Strip, Health, Humanitarian relief, Refugee camps, Social issues
Publication Date: 03/04/2009