Development Assistance by the UAE and Arab Countries

New Study
Arab aid, which has been relatively under-studied, has played an important role in global development finance.

A new and extensive World Bank report looks at the last forty years of official development assistance by Arab countries.

The summary statement says:

“Arab donors, predominantly the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have been among the most generous in the world, with Official Development Assistance (ODA) averaging 1.5 percent of their combined gross national income (GNI) during the period 1973-2008, more than twice the United Nations target of 0.7 percent and five times the average of the OECD-DAC countries.”

UAE Development Assistance
On the official development assistance given by the United Arab Emirates the report makes these points:

United Arab Emirates is the third largest source of Arab aid, accounting for 12 percent of total Arab ODA.

Between 1973 and 2008, UAE provided US$ 31.4 billion (in 2007 prices) in ODA, the bulk of which was provided in the late 1970s and 1980s.

The share of ODA in UAE’s national income declined from about 7.6 percent in the late 1970s to 1.0 percent in the 1980s, 0.6 percent in the 1990s, and 0.2 percent between 2000 and 2008.

As in KSA, the drop in UAE’s ODA was in line with declining oil prices, domestic debt service requirements, and economic difficulties following the 1990–91 Gulf War.

Generous Assistance
This important report reveals that Arab countries have accounted and continue to account for a significant proportion of the official development assistance that is given throughout the world.

It also shows that Arab assistance is extending in terms of the beneficiary countries and the type of assistance that is being given.

Link to Full Report and Executive Summary
Arab Development Assistance: Four Decades of Cooperation, World Bank, June 2010.

Geoff Pound

This article is also posted on the Fujairah in Focus Facebook Page upon which many more articles and links are posted than on this blog.