New York: The State of Qatar took part yesterday in the Ministerial Meeting for Key Partners in Support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), on the margins of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Minister of State for International Cooperation HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater represented the State of Qatar at the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, Her Excellency announced the State of Qatar’s further $100 million pledge as part of its response to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, including backing UNRWA. Her Excellency called for a unified international community stance in support of UNRWA as a key humanitarian assistance provider in Gaza amid adverse systematic measures by the Israeli government.

Her Excellency expressed Qatar’s pride in being among the first countries to sign the Statement of Shared Commitments on UNRWA, in recognition of the Agency’s crucial role in providing life-saving assistance to Palestinian refugees, stressing Qatar’s position dismissing attempts to designate UNRWA as a terrorist organization, as extremely dangerous and an onset of uncontrollable evil.

The State of Qatar has continuously increased its donations to UNRWA, and was the first Arab country to sign a multi-year agreement with the agency in 2018, Her Excellency noted, adding that Qatar will continue to coordinate with the agency to support efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people, in addition to providing various forms of humanitarian assistance in line with its policy of solidarity with them.

Her Excellency said that this year’s meeting is very important due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza, its military operations in the West Bank, and the recent aggression on Lebanon, which led to a serious humanitarian disaster and further destabilized the region.