http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=57496&d=14&m=1&y=2005
Friday, 14, January, 2005 (03, Dhul Hijjah, 1425)
Arab Funds Pledge to Raise Over $1bn for Tsunami Relief
Javid Hassan, Arab News
RIYADH, 14 January 2005 - Arab financial institutions and funds concluded
their three-day meeting here with a pledge to raise over $1 billion in funds
and grants for the victims of tsunami disaster in South and Southeast Asia.
In a communique, representatives of the Arab national and regional
development institutions and funds expressed their solidarity with the
countries and peoples of the Asian countries affected by the disaster. The
members said besides financial aid they would undertake national campaigns for
collection of voluntary contributions from the public to channel aid both in
cash and kind to the disaster-stricken people.
An upshot of the meeting was the setting up of a coordination group of
Arab national regional development institutions and funds which would mobilize
their resources and undertake projects as part of a pan-Arab initiative.
At the meeting, held under the patronage of Prince Talal ibn Abdul Aziz,
president of AGFUND (Arab Gulf Program for United Nations Development
Organizations), the coordination group declared its willingness to fund the
reconstruction programs of the tsunami-hit countries. It will also cooperate
with the UN agencies and other international organizations working for the
relief and rehabilitation of tsunami victims.
The communique noted that some member institutions of the group have
started sending delegations to the affected countries to evaluate the scale of
disaster. These delegations will identify urgent projects to be supported by
these institutions as well as projects requiring longer gestation periods, such
as reconstruction of educational institutions, hospitals, water supply systems
and sewerage facilities.
The concluding session was attended by the eight members of the group -
the Islamic Development Bank, OPEC Fund for International Development, Abu
Dhabi Fund for Development, Saudi Fund for Development, Arab Fund for Economic
and Social Development, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Arab Bank
for Economic Development in Africa and AGFUND.
In a related development, Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal met here
on Tuesday with the ambassadors of the Organization of the Islamic Conference
(OIC) and discussed the issue of mobilizing emergency assistance to the
earthquake and tsunami victims who have suffered colossal human and material
losses.
Prince Saud conveyed to the ambassadors the Kingdom's keenness to
coordinate with and consult the member countries for mobilizing the relief and
rehabilitation program on a massive scale. The meeting also dwelt on the mode
of assistance to the 35,000 orphans, victims of the earthquake in Indonesia.
The ambassadors welcomed the Kingdom's humanitarian gesture and
initiative in seeking to alleviate the human sufferings as well as extending
emergency assistance to the countries devastated by the killer waves.
SABB Donates SR1 Million
Saudi British Bank (SABB) has donated SR1 million in support of the
Kingdom's relief campaign for tsunami victims.
Sheikh Abdullah Al-Hugail, chairman of SABB, said: "The board has taken
the initiative on behalf of the stakeholders and participated in this campaign
to ensure SABB's role in supporting humanitarian campaigns. It is also in line
with the Kingdom's efforts to provide relief support wherever needed."
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