IMPLEMENTING GLOBAL STRATEGY IN THE UAE FOREIGN AID: FROM ARAB SOLIDARITY TO SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

• Main Author: Khalid Almezaini
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 2018-12-01
• Series: Vestnik RUDN International Relations
• Subjects: the United Arab Emirates (UAE); South; South cooperation (SSC); foreign aid; the Middle East; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); Arab aid
• Online Access: http://journals.rudn.ru/international-relations/article/viewFile/20105/16405
• ISSN: 2313-0660; 2313-0679

This article is dedicated to the phenomenon of the “emerging donors” activity within the South-South cooperation (SSC). The case of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) foreign aid demonstrates new principles and instruments of SSC; first of all it is solidarity and engagement with the UN and other governmental and non-governmental aid organizations to contribute to the development of the Global South countries. The visibility of the UAE at the regional (Middle East) and international level led the country to contribute to all types of aid activities, particularly humanitarian efforts. As a matter of fact, the UAE is a ‘humanitarian nation’, where aid has become part of its daily foreign policy activities. Consequently, its relations with countries in the “South” and developing countries became much stronger due to the fact that it has contributed to their economic developments and humanitarian efforts. South-South cooperation includes transfer of technologies and resources between the developing countries. Using predominantly quantitative methodology the author analyses the UAE strategy of the foreign aid and proves its coherence with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations. Moreover, the author shows the extension of the UAE foreign aid “map”: largest aid recipient for the UAE are mainly in Asia and Africa where the poorest countries in the world exist.