COLOMBO : The Paris-based Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped donor countries in providing official development assistance (humanitarian and development) in 2021 to low- and middle-income countries, with an amount of USD 7.12 billion.
The Kingdom’s ambassador in Colombo, Khalid Hamoud Al-Kahtani,said that this aid constitutes 1.05% of the Kingdom’s gross national income, which means exceeding the target set by the United Nations, which is for donor countries to allocate 0.7% of their gross national income as official development aid.
The directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince and Prime Minister contributed to this great achievement that placed the Kingdom at the forefront of international humanitarian action with all merits and entitlements, the envoy added.
The Kingdom was throughout its history and is still a benevolent country that extends its hand of goodness to help the distressed and provide relief to the needy wherever they are, and it continues on the same noble approach that embodies the established values of the wise leadership of the Kingdom and its generous people, and that the exceptional and successive achievements come as a result of the Kingdom’s ambitious vision 2030.
According to the data of Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the year 2021, the most prominent sectors of development aid are humanitarian operations, food security, shelter, education, water, environment and health.
