(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah on Monday called for concerted efforts to address the spread of the deadly Ebola virus disease.
"The world is facing one of the worst epidemic threatening our societies and health, particularly in the West African countries where Ebola killed thousands of people," Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled said in a speech before a ministerial meeting of the Arab-Africa Partnership Coordination Committee chaired by him.
"We have a shared responsibility to confront this epidemic. This should happen within the framework of the World Health Organization (WHO)," he said.
He noted that Kuwait donated USD five million for WHO to help confront this disease, adding: "I urge the continuation of efforts to contain this epidemic and stop its spread." Kuwait was keen on bolstering economic and humanitarian conditions of people around the globe.
Kuwait attaches great importance to the provision of humanitarian and economic assistances for the developing and least-developed countries, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled went on.
During the Third Arab-Africa Summit, hosted by Kuwait in November, 2013, Kuwait offered huge financial contributions to development in the African countries, he recalled.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah committed USD one billion in soft loans for the African countries to be used for development projects over five years, and offered another USD one billion for infrastructure projects in African countries to be channeled through the World Bank and international financial institutions.
His Highness the Amir also announced a USD one million award under the name of late Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Sumait dedicated for development research in Africa, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled went on. The award, in appreciation of Al-Sumait remarkable philanthropic contributions in the African continent, would be supervised by Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science (KFAS).
Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled noted that a team was formed to follow up the implementation of His Highness the Amir's initiatives for Africa.
The Kuwaiti minister thanked the Arab League and the African Union for their endeavors to bring about success to the Arab-Africa partnership.
He also welcomed the African Union's unfreezing the membership of Egypt.
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