The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, has launched a new umbrella initiative to oversee, manage and sustain the humanitarian and development work overseen by the many organizations which he has launched over the years. The new organization is called Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives. For his part, UAE Minister of Cabinet Mohammad al-Gergawi, told Al Arabiya News that the new initiative aims to help 130 million people by 2025 and will see a shift of focus more towards the Middle East region. "The circumstances which the region is going through calls for immediate action, albeit our direction will always be that we will always aim to help people of all races and all religions without any discrimination" Asked about Syrian refugees in particular, Gergawi said that the UAE has been active in building camps and supporting them in Syria and Lebanon as well as donating money into various related aid programs" "The refugee issue might be a new issue to Europe and the rest of the world, but for us here we have been dealing with it for a long time," he added. "We have 250,000 Syrians in the UAE, 150,000 are residents already and 100,000 others came over the past 4 years," revealed Gergawi. The project hopes to reach more than 130 million people in at least 116 countries in the coming years, though much of its work will target the Arab world. It has an annual operating budget of more than 1 billion dirhams ($272 million). Its activities will focus on fighting poverty, spreading knowledge, community building, and entrepreneurship and innovation.
