RIYADH: The UAE has pledged to allocate $200 million to stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in low-income countries.
This announcement was made during the International Monetary and Financial Committee meeting, held on the sidelines of the World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, as reported by the state-run news agency WAM.
The allocation is part of the UAE’s participation in the IMF’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust Facility, which aims to improve living conditions in developing nations.
Established in 2010 by the IMF, the PRGT is a crucial vehicle that provides concessional funding at zero interest rates to low-income countries facing challenges such as high inflation, persistent food insecurity, increasing debt risks, and high borrowing costs.
This commitment aligns with the UAE’s efforts to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 1, which is “End poverty in all its forms everywhere.”
Mohamed bin Hadi Al-Hussaini, UAE’s minister of state for financial affairs, stated: “The UAE is committed to realizing the UN SDGs by all means possible. This includes contributing to trust funds, which falls within the UAE’s strategy and vision for cooperation and coordination with regional and international development organizations and institutions.”
He added that this support enhances development projects and underscores the UAE’s commitment to international humanitarian initiatives.
Al-Hussaini emphasized that the historic opportunity of hosting the WBG-IMF Annual Meetings in Africa, for the first time in nearly 50 years, provides a platform to discuss development-related issues with the participation of over 189 nations.
The minister highlighted the UAE’s long history of providing significant foreign aid to developing countries worldwide, dating back to its foundation in 1971.
Al-Hussaini added: “The history of UAE’s foreign aid began with its foundation. It is now a vital financial, commercial and logistical hub for the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, thus linking its economy to those nations’ economies.”
Additionally, earlier in the month, the UAE allocated $20 million in humanitarian aid to Palestinians during ongoing airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, demonstrating the UAE’s policy of providing immediate relief and support to vulnerable populations in times of crisis, according to a WAM report.
