Speaking at the Leaders' Summit on Refugees held at the UN headquarters, UAE Minister Reem bint Ibrahim al Hashemi announced that the nation would be taking in 15,000 immigrants in the next years
"The crisis of refugees and displaced persons, however, is not confined to the Middle East, it is a global phenomenon that requires the attention of the entire international community. The UAE is committed to working with you [international community] to find collective and effective solutions to prevent further escalation of the global refugee crisis," she was quoted as saying.H.E. Reem AlHashimi participates in the leaders summit on refugees held in the UN headquarters in Newyork. pic.twitter.com/1OgitORHH3
— Forsan UAE - English (@Forsan_UAE_EN) September 22, 2016
The UAE is already home to 1,15,000 Syrians, living here before the 2011 Syrian Crisis that displaced millions. By 2016, 1,23,000 Syrians took shelter in the Emirates. While the UAE has provided over 700 million dollars in support to Syrian refugees in Greece, Iraq and Jordan, they've not opened their borders. The UAE is the first Gulf Cooperation Council to to announce Syrians asylum as refugees.H.E Reem Al Hashimy discusses areas of collaboration with Filippo Grandi, the United Nations @RefugeesChief #UNGA pic.twitter.com/JrwdGO3x0y
— UAE Mission to UN (@UAEMissionToUN) September 21, 2016
HE Reem Al Hashimy: the #UAE provided over the last five years more than USD 750 million to support Syrian #refugees #refugeesummit #UNGA
— UAE Mission to UN (@UAEMissionToUN) September 22, 2016