Kuwait paid its annual contribution of $1.5 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Donation is prompted by Kuwait's sincere desire to support the Palestinian refugees, KUNA reported. During Kuwait's Speech in UNRWA's meeting for donors to announce their financial pledges on Tuesday, the First Secretary of Kuwait's Permanent Mission to the UN Musaad Abdulrahman Al-Kulaib said, "the International Community should commit to making contributions to the Agency to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people and finding financial tools to improve the falling budget of the Agency." Last year, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah donated $34 million to UNRWA which stemmed from his faith in the Palestinian cause and the refugees' rights. This year, 20 countries pledged approximately $ 214 million to the UNRWA for 2011. UNRWA provides educational, health, relief, and social services for almost 5 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and Gaza.
