UAE, Egypt discuss stronger cooperation on development

Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD) and Sahar Nasr, Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, yesterday met to discuss ways of bolstering cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Al Qasimi, who also chairs the UAE Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid, said the UAE's aid to Egypt in 2014 stood at Dh11.7 billion, accounting for 52 per cent of all UAE's foreign aid.

In the past five years (2010-2014), the UAE's aid to Egypt stood at a little more than Dh29 billion, accounting for 48.6 per cent of the total UAE's foreign aid, she said, noting that the aid to the Arab country went mainly to its development projects.

The UAE minister praised the UAE leadership, namely President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces for supporting strong relations between the UAE and Egypt and promoting international development efforts.

She also praised Egypt for facilitating access of UAE's aid into Gasa Strip via the Rafah border crossing, into Libya via the Salloum border crossing well as UAE's humanitarian aid shipments to Yemen via the port of Alexandria.

For her part, the Egyptian minister of international development reiterated her country's interest in stronger ties with the UAE, in particular in the wake of the 23 July revolution in Egypt.

Source: WAM