Kuwait’s support for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reached an impressive $20 million during the current fiscal year, disclosed Nisreen Rubaian the country representative of UNHCR.
Rubaian pointed at the series of crises that unfolded throughout the year, from earthquakes in Syria, Turkey, and Morocco to the crisis in Sudan, floods in Libya, and the ongoing war in Gaza. Despite these challenges, she emphasized Kuwait’s impressive contributions to humanitarian aid asserting that “Kuwait is one of the biggest supporters of humanitarian issues in the world.”
The UNHCR held a luncheon to thank the local media for their support and cooperation extended to the UNHCR offices locally as well as internationally. Rubaian acknowledged the good work journalists were doing locally and helping bring about an awareness in the plight of refugees around the world.
She explained how Kuwait provided generous support to the United Nations, including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, to confront these crises and conduct relief efforts throughout 2023. She extended gratitude to the private sector and the local humanitarian organizations along with the government for their significant contributions and positive engagement in responding to these emergencies.
Rubaian underscored the enduring strategic partnership between UNHCR and Kuwait, both in the governmental and private sectors. This, she noted, reflected Kuwait’s deeply rooted charitable and humanitarian approach, not only at the state level but also within the Kuwaiti society across all facets. This reinforces Kuwait’s role as a pioneering force for humanitarian and charitable initiatives on regional and global scales.
She appreciated Kuwait’s recent announcement of its voluntary annual donation of one million dollars from the beginning of 2024 to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees through the donor conference held in Geneva. Rubaian also shed light on overlooked crises such as the Rohingya refugee crisis, expressing hope for active participation from Kuwait and other nations in the upcoming Global Refugee Forum scheduled for the middle of this month.
