UAE offers $10mn emergency assistance to Hurricane Irma victims

The United Arab Emirates, UAE, has provided an emergency assistance worth AED36.7 million (US$10 million) to aid those affected by Hurricane Irma in the Caribbean states.

Ordered by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the humanitarian gesture aims to assist and enable international relief efforts to mitigate the suffering of the people on the Caribbean islands. The hurricane wreaked havoc on vital infrastructure and caused human loss.

The UAE affirmed that the delivery of this assistance was part of its humanitarian role towards the people affected by natural disasters across the world.

The UAE has become an active contributor among international responders to humanitarian challenges and has made her presence felt strongly in areas of international long-term emergency humanitarian assistance and relief.

In January, the UAE launched a $50 million UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund, which represents one of the largest-ever single investments in the region's clean energy sector, as well as a significant deepening of bilateral relationships between the UAE and Caribbean countries.

With a speed gust of 300kph, Hurricane Irma is one of the most powerful storms in the Atlantic Ocean in a quarter of a century and caused heavy damage up to 50 percent to the infrastructure in Caribbean islands.