During a recent visit to Ethiopia, Sultan Al Shamsi, assistant minister of Foreign Affairs for the Development Affairs and International Organizations of the United Arab Emirates, announced his country's 200 million USD pledge towards humanitarian response efforts in conflict-ridden Sudan.
The Reporter's Sisay Sahlu caught up with Al Shamsi for a deeper look at the UAE's humanitarian initiatives and its relationship with Ethiopia. EXCERPTS:
The UAE has pledged 200 million USD for Sudan. Tell us about this initiative.
Yes, it was an important day. We have managed and organized it with Ethiopia and the African Union for the Sudanese people with the presence of the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Kenyan President and the UN Secretary-General. It was very important to come together during this African Union annual session. All the international partners stand together to fight the humanitarian crises in Sudan. As Ramadan is approaching, it is critical to raise the importance of a pause of war or ceasefire to respect this holy month and to have more access to aid for Sudanese people and help people to move freely for social connection. Based on that, we hope to build a permanent ceasefire.
It has been two years since the conflict erupted, and now it is not only about Sudan but also the larger neighbouring region, as we are seeing more refugees in Chad, South Sudan, and Uganda. We thank these countries for taking the burden of receiving and hosting refugees in their territory. This week, the UN has launched around 4.2 billion USD for the humanitarian demand of Sudan, and I believe it will be crucial to fill the gap in aid.
- Advertisement -The UAE's priority is not only Sudan, but also we have programs in Somalia, the Shale area of Chad, Niger, Congo, and outside Africa in Asia and other small island states. The UAE is trying to make sure to end this conflict to see the prosperity of the people.
It is a lot of money. How are you going to manage it?
Speaking about money; for example, Sudan requires 4.2 billion USD. You can cascade this through different organizations to implement; distribution partners are actually on the ground to distribute. And we also have different sectors; the focus on food or nutrition or health.
Sometimes we see crises well funded, but we have a problem with distribution, sometimes we also have a problem with underfunding.
In Sudan, we need to work together with the UN system to make sure that our system is working properly and to make sure it was sent to the right people. We highly appreciate hosting countries for hosting the Sudanese.
The Reporter: As Ramadan is approaching, what does the UAE have planned in terms of humanitarian aid?
A number of Emirati NGOs provide Iftar to communities in need and other activities, not only providing food but also sharing celebrations of the holy month by different means of engagement and communication.
What are some challenges you have encountered in providing aid?
Each country has different challenges. You cannot say that it's heads or tails. In Sudan, the challenge is conflict. It is problematic how we can move inside, as two fighters control different areas of Sudan. This really poses a challenge.
We have to make sure more aid gets inside Sudan. From Port Sudan or from Adre, we have to move more aid. The distribution itself is also sometimes difficult. Sometimes we see really different complications. We see the effects of climate change, refugees, migration issues, disease and other manmade and natural disasters. So, based on the country's situation, sometimes you need different scenarios to respond. You need a different partner to work. We also need to bring to the table the UN organizations and the private sector.
It is important to press more that there's no real restriction of aid. It has to go to all people, especially the most vulnerable people: the children and women. It's really critical and important to support them.
Beside conflict, you see for example, small island states in the Pacific and Caribbean, where there is no conflict, but are very vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
In Gaza, the conflict continues for more than a year. Everything has been damaged everywhere. It's another scenario of how you can get inside. How do you bring more aid? Which sector is the priority? That is really difficult and we are trying to work hard to support people in Gaza and Sudan.
There is another crisis we cannot fail or neglect. Unfortunately, many crises are neglected and forgotten. No one speaks about them. Look at the Rohingya in Bangladesh, there's more than a million people there. No one speaks about them.
What does the UAE's support to Ethiopia look like?
We have programs in Ethiopia's health and education. For example, a few schools were reopened in Ethiopia last month, and we have some programs in the coming days. But what is important is to have private sector engagement to generate more jobs, whether it is in logistics, agriculture or other potential sectors. Ethiopia is a very important country on the continent of Africa and I think that is why we need more collaboration. We are more focused on education, health, and agriculture.
What is the basis for the UAE's collaboration with Ethiopia?
Friendship and brotherhood. We have maintained an excellent relationship, and we have seen increased collaboration between government to government and business to business, people to people. I think we have a very respectful friendship. We have built a relationship with mutual interest, respect, friendship, and brotherhood.
We have excellent collaboration with Ethiopia in programs including education and women's support. Ethiopia is a very important country. It is not about government to government, because no doubt we have an excellent relationship, but it is also very important to build people-to-people relationships. Our proximity is a four-hour flight, and we are very close neighbours. And I think it is very important to have more private sector engagement and explore different areas, and that is really what we focus on with Ethiopia.
Many Ethiopians reside in the UAE. How do you see their role in strengthening the relationship between the two nations?
We have many Ethiopians in the UAE, and we highly appreciate and thank them for their contribution to our country. We have different scales of professionalism, and we see many Ethiopians working in many areas, including hotels, technology, and a few other business areas, which is an important milestone in our relationship.
But also we are trying to bring more private sector engagement to Ethiopia in logistics and other areas.
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The UAE hosted the COP28 meeting last year. How do you see the climate issue?
I think it is the elephant in the room. Climate change is a big issue. Everybody has to come together to work together and tackle these issues. I think the UAE succeeded with COP 28, and we took this success to COP 29, and Azerbaijan will also take that to the next COP 30 in Brazil. And we'll continue with that and get more support and engage more to provide sustainable solutions.
The key here is the private sector. If you really want to expand and move you need billions of dollars to tackle these problems. But other humanitarian crises, conflicts and also need billions of dollars. It needs bold commitments for how we tackle these issues and after five years, we will end the 2030 agenda SDGs.
The UAE is a leading global destination for investment and tourism. What can Ethiopia learn from the UAE in terms of attracting investment?
Our arms are always open to any friends looking to get more experience from the UAE. We are a new nation, but I think it's our leadership that invests more in technology, youth, women, and artificial intelligence.
Yes, it's a destination. We have built a centre of excellence. We also have a hub for transactions for many countries that try to link the East and the West. Whatever experience there is in the UAE, we will not hesitate for any countries that look for that and are also willing to do that.
We look forward to working with the government here and to see their priorities and national plans. This is also what the rest of the world does.
