The UAE has granted USD 10 million to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to help stabilize the areas recently liberated from Daesh in Iraq, WAM news agency reported on Tuesday.

The UAE contribution will be allocated to UNDP’s Funding Facility for Immediate Stabilization (FFIS), and will be used to rehabilitate civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and schools.

Also, the project will support community development initiatives.

Speaking after the signing of the agreement, Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said: "The UAE believes in the importance of bringing stabilization, peace and prosperity to the Iraqi people, especially those who have been affected by violence and terrorism. We look forward to working with UNDP and seeing improvements in the lives of Iraqi families returning to their liberated home areas."

UNDP Resident Representative and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq Lise Grande said that hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are ready to return home to newly liberated areas. This generous contribution will allow us to quickly improve conditions in key cities, including Ramadi, where many neighbourhoods have been extensively damaged.

"We are hugely grateful to the United Arab Emirates for extending this support to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis," she added.

Source: MENA