UAE exemplary humanitarian legacy evident and lasting in Afghanistan

Since the Taliban took over the country, many Afghans who feared for their lives and the lives of their families have fled and taken refuge in many countries that agreed to receive them. The noble legacy of which UAE’s decision to take in women and children fleeing the turmoil in Afghanistan comes as a continuation of its two decades of humanitarian work in the war-ravaged country.

The decision to receive and house Afghan women and children, displaced by the recent developments in their country, builds on this noble legacy.

What UAE has done is also in line with its universal message of goodness, goodwill and acceptance.

For more than 20 years now, the UAE has consistently been one of the top contributors to humanitarian work in Afghanistan.

Year after year, the UAE is ranked by all global indices as a top foreign aid donor.

Since its establishment in 1971, the UAE has donated a staggering amount of more than Dh320 billion to humanitarian and development aid to the less fortunate states.Various countries around the world has received them and they have continually thanked the UAE for it.

Since the start of the current developments, the UAE made it clear that it will extend all necessary help to the Afghan people in these uncertain times. And that role will continue until that country regains calm and stability.

Shortly after the US invasion of Afghanistan, the UAE through the Red Crescent and its armed forces made significant humanitarian contribution in that country.

Some of the exemplary things that the UAE did was the construction of the Afghan refugee camp that housed more than 10,000 refugees along the border of Chaman, Pakistan and supplied it with all essential commodities, including a modern hospital. This is followed by the Sheikh Zayed housing project for 200 families with the necessary facilities such as a mosque, two schools and a medical centre.

Asides that, the UAE has also built dozens of schools, 6 medical centres, a university that serves 6,500 students annually, around 40 mosques, hundreds of water wells and many other vital projects aimed at improving the lives of the Afghan people.

More recently, the construction of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan city, a massive residential housing project that consists of 3333 apartments in Kabul was completed.

The UAE armed forces, guided by the principle of helping brotherly people and providing safety and stability, extended its helping hand in Afghanistan for years.

Today, this noble legacy continues. The UAE’s founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed used to say that helping those in need is a duty. This principle has guided our foreign policy for decades. For Afghanistan and others in need, the UAE is a friend indeed.