BEIRUT (WAM): The UAE Embassy in Lebanon has initiated the second phase of the UAE Response Campaign for Displaced Syrians “Winter 2019 – Lebanon” to provide food supplies, blankets, heaters, clothing, and tents for a number of areas including North regions that have been severely hit by severe weather conditions.
Hamad Saeed Sultan Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Lebanon revealed at a news conference on Friday. He said the campaign provides urgent assistance to displaced Syrians in Lebanon worth AED18.4 million (US$5 million).
The campaign, launched by Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, is in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; with the support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and follow-up of H.H. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs and Chairman of the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.
“In line with the urgent appeals made by those concerned in Lebanon as a result of the storms that hit displaced Syrians and caused heavy losses, the humanitarian and development attache of the UAE Embassy launched an urgent humanitarian campaign to provide food supplies, blankets, fireplaces, fuel and clothes as well as tents in severely damaged areas,” Ambassador Al Shamsi noted.
The initiative is funded by the Emirates Red Crescent, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Sharjah Charity International, and the Human Appeal International with the cooperation of Lebanon’s Ministry of State for Displaced Affairs and a number of Lebanese state departments.
The UAE, he said, has always been part of the humanitarian efforts, and is among the pioneering countries who stand by others and support them. “This State would not have been a model for development without its vision of humanity, which is an inherent legacy in the country’s foreign policy, initiated by the Founding Founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and is followed by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.”
The ceremony was attended by Pierre Bouassi, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs; Mouin Maroubi, Minister of State for Displaced Persons in Lebanon; Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, Higher Relief Commission Secretary-General; George Kettani, Secretary-General of the Lebanese Red Cross; and Emmanuel Gignac, Deputy Representative for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Lebanon.