Kuwait city: Kuwait reiterated on Tuesday its unwavering commitment to supporting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), noting that the country's contribution reached more than USD 560 million over the past decade, in addition to annual voluntary donations of one million dollar to support UNHCR programs. This came in a statement delivered by Kuwait's Acting Chargé d'Affaires to the United Nations Counselor Nasser Al Ramzi during the General Assembly's pledging conference for UNHCR programs held in Geneva. According to Kuwait News Agency, Al Ramzi highlighted that Kuwait has built a strategic partnership with UNHCR culminating in the first Strategic Dialogue chaired by Kuwait's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah in Geneva earlier this year. He described the dialogue as "a milestone in the growing cooperation process and a platform to coordinate efforts and strengthen joint action in support of refugees and to alleviate their suffering." Al Ramzi reaffirmed Kuwait's determination to continue working with international partners to build "a safer and more hopeful future for all." He underlined Kuwait's prominent humanitarian role during the Syria crisis noting that Kuwait ranked among the world's top five donors in 2013 and 2014, contributing over two billion dollars since the outbreak of the crisis. He further noted that Kuwait also hosted three international donor conferences for Syria between 2013 and 2015 and co-chaired several others. Al Ramzi reiterated Kuwait's commitment to supporting stability and facilitating the safe voluntary and dignified return of refugees in full accordance with international law. Kuwait's support includes both urgent humanitarian assistance and long-term development aid through bilateral and multilateral channels, he clarified. In his opening remarks before the General Assembly's pledging conference for UNHCR programs, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi warned that 2025 has been one of the most challenging years for UNHCR as the agency lost nearly one-third of its funding within a short period. He added that UNHCR was forced to scale back core programs to eliminate nearly 5,000 posts and shut down or significantly reduce operations in 185 offices worldwide. Grandi stressed the urgent need for political and humanitarian support for refugee causes, underscoring that international solidarity remains the cornerstone for protecting millions of refugees and their host countries.
