Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development, MICAD, and Head of the U.A.E. Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, has highlighted the U.A.E.'s efforts in international development through the active role played by the U.A.E.'s donor institutions and authorities.
Her remarks were made in a speech as the chairperson of a high-level panel discussion of the relationship between the U.A.E.'s aid programme and the Millennium Development Goals, with the participation of representatives of a number of humanitarian organisations and Emirati donor institutions.
The Minister expressed deep appreciation for the vital role played by the U.A.E.'s donors and humanitarian organisations, confirming the continuation of the cooperation and partnership approach to formulating the nation's unified vision to integrate and improve the country's contributions towards supporting the international community in achieving its development goals and to link the objectives of the U.A.E.'s aid sector with global goals.
Sheikha Lubna noted that the United Nations Millennium Summit, held in New York in 2000, unanimously approved a common vision to rid the world of poverty by the end of 2015, which contributed to the elaboration of the Millennium Development Goals.
She added that over the last 15 years, significant progress on the Millennium Development Goals has been achieved in various fields.
Sheikha Lubna stressed the importance of the panel discussion in addressing the U.A.E.'s contributions to foreign aid and how the country's previous projects fit the agenda of the Millennium Development Goals as well as the roadmap of the post-2015 UN Development Agenda, noting its impact on the formulation of the U.A.E.'s aid programme for the next 15 years.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Tariq Ahmed Al Hidan, Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organisation Affairs, Hazza Al Qahtani, Under-Secretary of MICAD and Najla Al Kaabi, Assistant Under-Secretary for International Cooperation.
It was also attended by Ahmed Shabib Al Dhahiri, Director-General of the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, Humaid Al Shamsi, Deputy Secretary-General of the Emirates Red Crescent, and a number of representatives of humanitarian agencies and institutions.