Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Sultan bin Saad Al Muraikhi received on Monday a phone call from the new Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) Philippe Lazzarini.

The call focused on reviewing bilateral cooperation, in addition to issues of joint interest.

The Qatari minister and the UN official discussed the situation of Palestinian refugees in UNRWA’s fields of operations along with the difficulties faced by the Agency.

Over recent years, Qatar has shown a strong commitment to support Palestinian refugees across the MENA region and beyond.

In 2019, the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) contributed a sum of US$ 40 million to support the access of Palestine refugees to basic services.

In 2018, Qatar contributed US$ 50 million to UNRWA, making it one of the Agency’s top ten donors that year. Qatar’s timely contribution allowed the Agency to open its schools on time for some 530,000 boys and girls in 711 UNRWA schools.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA across its five fields of operation. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight.