Since the 1980s Saudi Arabia has provided foreign assistance to many countries and organizations.
Between 1976 and 1987, Saudi developmental
aid
In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another.
Ai ...
amounted to US$49 billion.
[Barton, Jack]
/ref> In 2006, it was reported that the country was the biggest per capita donor, though the aid had only been given to Muslim countries.[ The first donation given to a non-Muslim country was in 2006.] Saudi charities, including those linked to the Saudi royal family, have been implicated as funding terrorism through purported charity donations, as well as funding radical Islam movements.
Saudi fund for development
The Saudi Fund was set up by royal decree in October 1974, to stimulate economic growth in developing nations. In the next four years it gave soft loan
A soft loan is a loan with a below-market rate of interest. This is also known as ''soft financing''. Sometimes soft loans provide other concessions to borrowers, such as long repayment periods or interest holidays. Soft loans are usually provid ...
s totaling $3.1 billion to 51 countries, many of them with the lowest per-capita income bracket in the world. Almost 60 percent of approved loans earmarked for transport, power and water projects. By 1979, the fund accounted for about 30 percent of the kingdom's foreign economic aid. In 2019, Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development, has become the 3rd largest donor to UNRWA
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...
at it donated $800 million since 1994. Moreover, in 2019, the fund provided support to maintain Palestinian refugee camps in different countries.
According to the OECD
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...
, 2020 official development assistance
Official development assistance (ODA) is a category used by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to measure foreign aid. The DAC first adopted the concept in 1969. It ...
from Saudi Arabia decreased by 25.3% to US$1.5 billion.
Middle East
Saudi Arabia pledged $1 billion in export guarantees and soft loans to Iraq. For Lebanon, it pledged a total of $1.59 billion in assistance and deposits to the Central Bank of Lebanon in 2006 and pledged an additional $1.1 billion in early 2007.[Field Listing - Economic aid - donor]
CIA World Factbook. Of that aid, $500 million were intended for reconstruction.
After the 2003 Bam earthquake
The 2003 Bam earthquake struck the Kerman province of southeastern Iran at 01:56 UTC (5:26 am Iran Standard Time) on December 26. The shock had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (''Violent''). The ear ...
, Saudi Arabia pledged more than $200,000 to the victims.
Saudi Arabia is one of the largest providers of aid to the Palestinian people
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
.[Labott, Elise]
Saudis join Egypt in support for Hamas
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
. In just the three-year period 1987 to 1989 Saudi Arabia provided $1.8billion in financial support to the anti-government fighters in Afghanistan around twice the amount it had given to the PLO in the previous 14 years.[Dan Glazebrook - British Collusion with Sectarian Violence]
Since 2002, Saudi Arabia has given more than $480 million in monetary support to the Palestinian Authority, and has supported Palestinian refugees by contributing to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). Through the Arab League it has provided more than $250 million for the Palestinians, and pledged $500 million in assistance over the next three years at the Donors Conference in Dec 2007.[ Unlike aid from other nations, Saudi Arabian aid to Palestinians was not disrupted by the election of ]Hamas
Hamas (, ; , ; an acronym of , "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist, militant, and nationalist organization. It has a social service wing, Dawah, and a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam ...
.[
In April 2022, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pledged $3 billion to end a war with Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen. The war has fueled a humanitarian catastrophe in Yemen.
]
South Asia
After the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and the resulting massive tsunamis, the Saudi government gave $30 million in aid to aid the victims, including a $5 million private donation by King Fahd
Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...
(Saudis in total, including citizens, donated more than $80 million).[Saudis boost aid to wave victims]
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
.
In the aftermath of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake
The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu an ...
, Saudi Arabia donated over US$3.3 million, more than any other country, and promised an additional $573 million, also the maximum amount of money pledged. Saudi Arabia also provided 4000 pre-fabricated houses to Pakistan through the Saudi Public Assistance for Pakistan Earthquake Victims (SPAPEV). The houses, which were to be equipped with all required facilities, cost over $16.7 million. The SPAPEV also distributed 230,000 blankets, 150,000 quilts, 10,000 ordinary tents, 2,500 special winterized waterproof tents, 100,000 stoves, 100,000 food.
The Saudi government pledged $230 million to development in Afghanistan. It has also pledged $133 million in direct grant aid, $187 million in concessional loans, and $153 million in export credits for Pakistan earthquake relief.[
In the aftermath of the ]2010 Pakistan floods
The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's tot ...
, Saudi Arabia has donated more than US$361.99 million for the relief operation, topping the list of all donating countries. Saudi royal family donated $20 million on the first day whereas Saudi citizens donated more than $107 million were collected in the first three days. Saudi Arabia started the largest air relief bridge in the history and also donated two hospital consisting of 100 beds.
Balkans
Bosnian War and Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Bosnian Muslims received support from Muslim countries and Islamist organizations during the Bosnian War (1992–1995). Military operations, including Al-Qaeda activity (see Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Al-Qaeda in Bosnia and Herzegovina was the al-Qaeda branch based in Bosnia and Herzegovina, formed during the Bosnian War in 1992. During the Bosnian War, the group contributed volunteers to the Bosnian mujahideen (called ''El Mudžahid''), a volu ...
), were funded and supported by the Saudi High Commission (SHC), founded by Saudi prince Salman bin Abdul-Aziz. Pakistan supported Bosnia while providing technical and military support; Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI; ur, , bayn khadamatiy mukhabarati) is the premier intelligence agency of Pakistan. It is responsible for gathering, processing, and analyzing any information from around the world that is deemed relevant ...
(ISI) allegedly ran an active military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that uses information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. This aim is achieved by providing an assessment of data from a ...
program during the Bosnian War which started in 1992 lasting until 1995. Executed and supervised by Pakistani General
A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...
Javed Nasir
Lieutenant-General Javed Nasir ( Urdu: جاويد ناصر; born 1936) ), is a Pakistani retired engineering officer who served as the Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), appointed on 14 March 1992 until 13 May 1993.
Known ...
, the program provided logistics and ammunition supplies to various groups of Bosnian mujahideen
Bosnian mujahideen ( bs, Bosanski mudžahedini), also called ''El Mudžahid'' (from ar, مجاهد, ''mujāhid''), were foreign Muslim volunteers who fought on the Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) side during the 1992–95 Bosnian War. They first arriv ...
during the war. The ISI Bosnian contingent was organized with financial assistance provided by Saudi Arabia according to the British historian Mark Curtis.
According to Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...
, Saudi Arabia provided $300 million in weapons to government forces in Bosnia with the knowledge and tacit cooperation of the United States, a claim denied by officials.
According to some media reports, the Active Islamic Youth was described as a front for the Saudi High Commission for Relief and the Al-Haramain Islamic Foundation.
Kosovo War and Republic of Kosovo
The Saudi Joint Committee for the Relief of Kosovo used $5 million to finance projects in rehabilitation, foodstuffs, relief materials, educational and religious programs, sponsorship of orphans, health care programs and development. Freights from Jeddah took 400,000 liters of milk
Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...
as well as 900 cartons of clothing, 1,000 blanket
A blanket is a swath of soft cloth large enough either to cover or to enfold most of the user's body and thick enough to keep the body warm by trapping radiant body heat that otherwise would be lost through convection.
Etymology
The term ...
s, 25 water cisterns, medical supplies and surgical appliances such as wheelchairs to Pristina. Saudi citizens donated $20 million to Kosovo in cash as well as food and medical supplies, and the Saudi Red Crescent sent medical volunteers.
Africa
In 2006, the Saudi government gave $10 million in aid to the horn of Africa, through the World Food Programme
The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
, of which Kenya received $2 million. Saudi prince Al-Walid bin Talal donated $1 million to help feed 3.5 million Kenyans during the drought.
UNICEF
In 2017, Alwaleed Philanthropies
Alwaleed Philanthropies (formerly the "Al Waleed bin Talal Foundation") is a charitable and philanthropic organization founded by Al-Waleed bin Talal. The foundation has established centers and programs at institutions of higher education aroun ...
, a Saudi Arabian charitable foundation
A foundation (also a charitable foundation) is a category of nonprofit organization or charitable trust that typically provides funding and support for other charitable organizations through grants, but may also engage directly in charitable act ...
, donated $50 million to the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
to help eliminate measles, the largest private donation ever to UNICEF
UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to ...
.
See also
* Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia
* Administration of federal assistance in the United States
In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governm ...
References
External links
Foreign aid news stories
- Royal embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington D.C.
The Saudi fund for Development
- official website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Foreign Assistance
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia
Contributions to foreign aid by country