El-Fasher: The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs H E Ahmed bin Abdullah bin Zaid Al Mahmoud chaired yesterday the second meeting of the board of directors of reconstruction and development in Darfur in El Fasher, the capital of Darfur State.
Al Mahmoud also chaired the second meeting of Darfur Internal Dialogue and Consultation, which was attended by Joint Special Representative for Darfur and Head of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) Mohamed Ibn Chambas, African Union representative Ebrahima Camara, a number of stakeholders and representatives of states concerned.
Al Mahmoud stressed Qatar’s commitment to its pledges related to projects being implemented as part of early recovery programme, underlining the importance of shifting from depending on humanitarian grants to development projects.
The Deputy Premier said that Qatar met its pledges with regard to Darfur development and reconstruction, pointing out that many development projects were executed despite hard security challenges faced at times.
Qatar has allocated $88.5m for early recovery projects, he said, adding that this issue is expected to be discussed with the UN Development Programme and be signed soon. He added that Qatar had paid $10m of the said amount.
The implementation of housing projects and early recovery in five villages in Darfur with full services such as schools, health centres, police stations and other services at a cost of $31m has been completed, he said, adding that these projects aimed at attracting and encouraging voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons. He said that these villages can accommodate around 150,000 people, wishing fair distribution during the allocation process. His Excellency said that the third meeting will be held next October in Khartoum. QNA
