4,000 tonnes of dates will be donated to the WFP and the 3,000 tonnes to individual countries
Ayed Ali with his son Hamed buying quality dates from Saudi Arabia explained by the stall owner Ali Mohammed at a Fair at Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Centre=PHOTO: ABDUL RAHMAN/Gulf news archives
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Centre for Relief and Humanitarians Aid (KSRelief) said that it would donate 7,000 tonnes of dates to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and to 30 countries around the world.
The donation is part of the government aid programme to distribute dates in 2018,
Advisor to the Royal Court and the Supervisor General of KSRelief Centre Abdullah Al Rabeeah, said, adding that 4,000 tonnes of dates will be donated to the WFP and the 3,000 tonnes to individual countries.
‘’Saudi Arabia is well known for the aid programmes it provides. Over the past two decades, its aid has reached a total of $65.9 billion, covering more than 80 countries around the world,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has the highest number of date palm trees in the world and roughly accounts for 25 per cent of the world’s date production.
Last week, the centre said it distributed 3,000 boxes of dates to provide nutritional assistance to around 18,000 people living in the Harib district of the Ma’rib governorate in Yemen. The distribution was part of a larger project to provide 1,000 tons of food assistance to Ma’rib residents.
The centre, founded in 2015, said that it was carrying out 217 programmes to alleviate the suffering of the people in Yemen.
