RIYADH, 8 July 2003 — Saudi Arabia has donated $1.8 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), bringing the total Saudi contributions to $60 million to this UN agency.
The Kingdom has also launched a project to renovate and construct more than 2,500 homes in collaboration with the UNRWA, said Karen Koning Abu Zayed, the UNRWA’s deputy commissioner general.
In a statement released from Amman yesterday, she said the UNRWA had received two checks — one for $1.2 million and the other for $600,000.
The $1.2 million grant represents Saudi Arabia’s regular contribution to the UN agency, but the additional amount represents part of a $2.4 million contribution the Kingdom announced in 2000 it would pay to the UNRWA over four years.
“This will help to relieve the suffering of nearly four million Palestinian refugees,” she said.
The Palestinians have taken refuge in neighboring countries including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The UNRWA, which was established by a UN mandate following the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, seeks to sponsor Palestinian refugees and provide them with humanitarian assistance. It also exerts and coordinates efforts to train and create job opportunities for those who are capable of working.
The Kingdom has been contributing to the agency’s annual budget in addition to exceptional donations. The aid is earmarked for purposes including funding budget shortfalls, construction of refugee camps in Lebanon and educational services as well as relief, food and medical supplies for Palestinians.
