By Yousif Al-Saeedi
RIYADH, March 19 (KUNA) -- A number of Saudi economists and journalists have praised Kuwait's policies on providing humanitarian and development aid to those in need worldwide.
The decision to host a third aid-pledging conference for displaced Syrians was welcomed as "unsurprising" by Al-Shurooq for Economic Studies' Director Abdulrahman Baashan. Kuwait's initiatives worldwide are a cause for global admiration, he said, and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's recently-received UN 'Humanitarian Leader' title is well-deserved.
Kuwait has made a name for itself as a hub for humanitarian initiatives Baashan also believes, after hosting a third edition of the event which has helped raise billions of dollars towards the crisis.
Kuwait hosted the first and second aid pledging conferences for Syria in 2013 and 2014. The events successfully raised a collective USD 3.9 billion in aid pledges - USD 1.5 billion in the first and USD 2.4 billion in the second.
At both events Kuwait donated a total of USD 800 million, including USD 300 million in the first and USD 500 in the second.
Bassam Fatini, an editor for Saudi Arabia's Al-Watan newspaper, hailed Kuwait's support for 12.2 million displaced Syrians inside and outside of their country.
The event comes as the crisis has entered its fifth year now, and Fatini anticipates that as it has done in the past, it will do much to offer funds that are urgently needed for projects aimed at improving the livelihoods of the displaced families.
Meanwhile, writer and poet Abdulhadi Saleh pointed out the collective effort of Gulf states, Kuwait in particular, on the Syrian crisis.
He said the event illustrates His Highness the Amir's commitment to the response efforts on the crisis. Fahad Al-Hammadi, Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry member, expressed confidence in Kuwait's ability to host events of this magnitude and the reputation the tiny Gulf nation has been able to establish. (end) yms.sd