The United Arab Emirates on Wednesday pledged a further $50 million in help to quake-hit Syria, the official WAM information company mentioned, bringing the full worth of pledges to greater than $100 million.
The announcement got here greater than 9 days after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck Syria and Turkey, killing practically 40,000 folks.
It additionally adopted an attraction by the United Nations on Tuesday for $397 million to assist earthquake victims within the war-scarred nation, the place the catastrophe has left thousands and thousands in determined want of assist.
Emirati President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan “has ordered the supply of a further US$50 million as aid assist for quake-affected folks in Syria”, WAM mentioned.
Of the full sum, $20 million can be allotted to “humanitarian tasks in response to the emergency attraction of the United Nations (UN)”, the information company added.
The oil-rich Gulf nation that normalised relations with President Bashar al-Assad’s authorities in 2018 has led Syria’s quake response.
Final week, the nation’s president pledged $50 million to Syria, a day after Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum promised help value $13.6 million.
The UAE has despatched 38 planes to Syria carrying greater than 1,200 tonnes of meals and medical assist, along with practically 2,900 tents, in accordance with WAM.
It additionally dispatched a 42-member search and rescue staff to the coastal Syrian metropolis of Jableh, situated in Latakia, a province beneath authorities management.
The help is the biggest by a single nation to the war-torn nation that was already grappling with a spiralling financial crunch and a deep humanitarian disaster even earlier than the quake hit.
Emirati International Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan was in Syria on the weekend throughout which he met with Assad in addition to the UAE’s search and rescue staff.
His go to was the primary by a senior Gulf official to Syria for the reason that quake.
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