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22:19 GMT
UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Africa Majed Abdulaziz
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General's Special Adviser on Africa Majed Abdulaziz on Monday expressed joy for the UN naming of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as Humanitarian Leader.
"The UN honoring comes in appreciation of His Highness the Amir's support to the efforts of the UN agencies in the economic, social and humanitarian fields," Ambassador Abdulaziz, of Egypt, told KUNA and Kuwait TV.
"Kuwait, under His Highness the Amir, offered outstanding contributions to the UN activities which entitled the country to be a global center for humanitarian action," he affirmed.
Under His Highness the Amir's initiative, the First Arab Economic, Social and Development Summit was held in Kuwait in December, 2009, in a bid to foster the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the young entrepreneurs.
"The Arab leaders approved at that summit His Highness the Amir's initiative for setting up a fund for supporting the SMEs in the Arab countries with a capital of USD one billion, half of which (USD 500 million) was contributed by Kuwait," he pointed out.
The UN official added that Kuwait humanitarian contributions featured prominently in the hosting of the international pledging conferences for Syria since January, 2013, noting that donors from 69 countries pledged a total of USD 2.5 billion to the relief effort for the Syrian displaced by the conflict.
The UN is setting the stage for a ceremony to honor His Highness the Amir as Humanitarian Leader and Kuwait as Humanitarian center tomorrow, Tuesday, September 9. (end)
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