Royal charity to become 'official' aid

DUBAI // Foreign aid given by several organisations connected to Emirati ruling families will now be included in official government aid figures, raising the amount of donated by the Emirates. Foreign aid from the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Foundation, Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment and Al Maktoum Foundation will be classified as government development assistance, the Office for the Co-ordination of Foreign Aid (OCFA) said yesterday.

The organisations are endowed primarily by ruling families. Funds given to the foundations by members of the public or private sector will not be included in the aid figures. The announcement came after a visit by representatives of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which compiles statistics on foreign aid. "By recognising these contributions as official development assistance, the OECD has acknowledged the official status of these foundations," said the OCFA director general Hazza al Qahtani.

Funds channelled through the UAE Red Crescent Authority by the government will count as official foreign assistance, as will donations to Dubai Cares by its patron Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. @Email:zconstantine@thenational.ae