UAE is world's largest aid donor for 2016

The UAE has been ranked the world's largest donor of official development aid, relative to its national income, according to a data published on Saturday by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD.

The official development aid provided by the UAE in the year 2016 reached AED15.57 billion (US$4.24 billion), making up 1.21 percent of the country's Gross National Income, GNI. Over 58 percent of the development aid provided by the UAE was in the form of grants.

Bolstering its global lead in several fields, UAE continues to maintain its rank as the world's largest donor of official development aid, relative to national income, following the path of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in serving humanity by assisting brotherly and friendly nations to develop their economies or mitigate impacts of natural disasters.

Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs, said the ranking is a fruit of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and their wise approach of adopting humanitarian and developmental initiatives.

Norway came second, contributing 1.12 percent of its GNI, followed by Luxembourg (1 percent) and Sweden (0.94 percent).