Gaza _ Palestine News Network
The Commissioner-General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Refugees (UNRWA), Pierre Krähenbühl, announced on Monday the reduction of UNRWA´s fiscal deficit for the current year, from 446 to $21 million dollars.
On the sidelines of the meeting of the Agency´s Advisory Committee currently sitting in the Dead Sea, chaired by Turkey, Krähenbühl added that the Committee had today a comprehensive review of what had been done to mobilize the necessary financial support, noting that this year was a difficult year, especially following The unexpected US decision to reduce the level of its contributions and the cumulative deficit reached 446 million dollars.
The UN official noted that he had briefed the Advisory Committee today on the efforts made and the unprecedented volume of financial resources collected from the Rome and New York conferences, where work had been done at the highest level to secure the necessary support.
Krähenbühl thanked Jordan for the tireless and sustained efforts in mobilizing support and publicizing the status of the agency, as well as for the number of States that had assisted in arranging the previous two conferences alongside Jordan, namely, Sweden, Turkey, Egypt, Germany, Japan and the European Community, and the positions and efforts Made by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the representative of the high policy of the European Union, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and the Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
He referred to the "unlimited support" from the European Community and the members in particular Germany, Britain, Sweden, Italy, France and Spain, whose efforts not only provided assistance, but increased the level of their donations.
He also thanked the countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, each providing $50 million in total of $200 million, which constituted half of the new amounts received by the Agency, noting that unprecedented support had greatly helped to reduce the deficit in the public budget.
Krähenbühl said the agency still has an estimated deficit of $21 million, calling on many countries that have pledged support to the agency. To translate those pledges into funds in banks.
