Kuwait's latest external humanitarian mission was in Bangladesh's frontier regions where aid was handed over to thousands of Rohingya Muslims who fled their country, Myanmar, due to suppression, random attacks and violence.
The Kuwaiti Cabinet had called on the international community to safeguard the Rohingya from persecution and ending their bitter plight. Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, Chairman of the Kuwaiti Red Crescent Society, who led the Kuwaiti relief mission for the Rohingya, said the Kuwaiti aid was dispatched to many Muslims including children and elderly.
Meanwhile, Kuwait-based International Al-Rahma Committee distributed food at the refugee camps in the border Bangladeshi areas, sufficient for 16,000 persons. In Iraq, food, heaters and beddings were given to relocated Iraqis near Mosul as part of the Kuwaiti humanitarian campaign 'Al-Tarahom.'
Elsewhere in Iraq, 30 tons of food supplies were given to Iraqis relocated from Tal Afar. In the meantime, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) sent urgent aid to Iraq as part of a $100 million grant. Nawaf Al-Mohammad, KFAED's representative said that the fund allotted $15 million as urgent support for eight Iraqi provinces. He indicated that war-destroyed medical centers and clinics would be re-built and equipped.
In the Kurdish region, Prime Minister Nechirvan Idris Barzani, during a meeting with the Kuwaiti General Consul in Irbil, Omar Al-Kanderi, hailed the State of Kuwait's humanitarian initiatives for relieving the displaced Iraqis. In Cairo, Commissioner of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krahenbuhl, lauded generous contributions by the State of Kuwait for the agency budget.
Addressing the 148th Arab League ministerial session, he affirmed that the financial support by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the UAE helped the UNRWA to maintain services in 2015 and 2016. He urged Arab states to follow suit and help the agency continue serving some 5.3 million Palestinian refugees.
In Amman, Chairman of the Kuwait-based International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) Dr Abdullah Al-Maatouq underlined Kuwait's support to the health sector in the Jordanian Kingdom, as well as for the aid for the Syrian refugees. In statements to KUNA on sidelines of inaugurating a new extension of King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Maatouq, also advisor to the Amiri Diwan, said the center provides world-class healthcare services to thousands of people from Jordan and other Arab countries. He also urged Kuwaiti people to donate to the center to help it meet the growing treatment demand.
Kuwait's Ambassador in Amman Hamad Al-Duaij said the new building includes a number of facilities that would improve the medical services at the center. He added that Kuwait is one of the main supporter for center activities, especially its treatment of Syrian refugees. Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development offered the center $1 million grants in the past two years to treat cancer patients among Syrian refugees. The Kuwait Red Crescent Society had also donated $250,000. - KUNA