Implementing global strategy in the uae foreign aid: from arab solidarity to south-south cooperation

Размещено на http://www.allbest.ru/

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

emerging donor south cooperation

K. Almezaini

Zayed University, Abu Dhabi, United Arab

Emirates University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

ABSTRACT

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.

Key words: the United Arab Emirates (UAE), South--South cooperation (SSC), foreign aid, the Middle East, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Arab aid

К ГЛОБАЛЬНОЙ СТРАТЕГИИ МЕЖДУНАРОДНОЙ ПОМОЩИ ОАЭ: ОТ АРАБСКОЙ СОЛИДАРНОСТИ К СОТРУДНИЧЕСТВУ ЮГ-ЮГ

Х. Альмезаини

Университет Зайда, Абу-Даби, Объединенные

Арабские Эмираты Кембриджский университет,

Кембридж, Великобритания

Статья посвящена феномену деятельности «новых доноров» в рамках сотрудничества Юг-Юг. Пример оказания международной помощи Объединенными Арабскими Эмиратами (ОАЭ) демонстрирует новые принципы и инструменты сотрудничества Юг--Юг; прежде всего, это солидарность и взаимодействие с ООН и другими правительственными и неправительственными организациями по оказанию помощи в целях содействия развитию стран «Глобального Юга». Положение ОАЭ на региональном (ближневосточном) и международном уровне обязывает страну к оказанию всех видов помощи, особенно гуманитарной. По сути, ОАЭ являются «гуманитарной нацией», где содействие развитию становится частью ежедневной внешнеполитической деятельности государства. Следовательно, отношения ОАЭ со странами Юга и так называемыми «развивающимися странами» стали развиваться в достаточно активном режиме, поскольку ОАЭ способствуют экономическому росту этих государств. Сотрудничество Юг-Юг включает в том числе обмен технологий и ресурсов между развивающимися странами.

Используя преимущественно количественную методологию, автор анализирует стратегию внешней помощи ОАЭ и подтверждает ее согласованность с Целями устойчивого развития и Целями развития тысячелетия, объявленными ООН. Более того, автор показывает расширение географии иностранной помощи ОАЭ: крупнейшими получателями помощи ОАЭ в основном являются государства Азии и Африки, где находятся самые бедные страны мира.

Ключевые слова: Объединенные Арабские Эмираты (ОАЭ), сотрудничество Юг--Юг, международная помощь, Ближний Восток, Цели устойчивого развития, Цели тысячелетия в области развития, межарабская помощь

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) transformed its foreign aid since 1970's to be among the leading and largest aid donors in the world in relation to its Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Due to foreign aid and branding strategies, it became more visible than ever.

The active role of the UAE in the South--South cooperation reflects the fact that it has gone beyond the responsibilities only towards countries who share with it language, culture, history and religion to include all other countries that are in needed. This transformation led the Emirates to engage with the UN efforts in tackling poverty in countries in the South as well as countries that have poor economic development. In 2016, the UAE hosted the first Global South--South Development Expo (GSSD Expo). The GSSD Expo is a unique platform that the UN system offers solely for the global South [South--South and Triangular... 2016]. It provides an opportunity for all development actors and stakeholders to showcase Southern development solutions, celebrate South--South and triangular cooperation (SSTC) successes, share knowledge and hard-earned experience, explore new avenues for collaboration, and initiate new partnerships [South--South and Triangular... 2016]. The UAE's role within the SSC might best be seen from the `solidarity' perspective. Before the establishment of SSC agenda, the UAE main regional aid was perceived and seen as a solidarity aid despite some criticism. Regional instabilities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region forced regional aid donors such as the UAE to alter their priorities to support stabilities. Yet, this shift towards the region led to the rising number of aid donors and competition between regional and international donors.

Since the formation of the UAE, aid institutions have developed significantly ranging from ministries to bureaus that monitor and report aid. In particularly, the past ten years the UAE began providing full and detailed aid reports that made it to become part of many organizations such as OECD in 2014. This change in UAE institutional framework encouraged the state to engage at the international level to become a responsible donor particularly in the issues for development, humanitarian aid and South--South cooperation.

Therefore, this paper seeks to examine the role of the UAE within the context of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action and South--South cooperation. In addition, it asks two main questions, what explains the rising role of the UAE in the support of the countries in the South? What role the UAE has played in the promotion and support of the South--South cooperation? The paper consists of two main sections; first section looks at the definition and geographical scope of South--South cooperation that comes as part of Buenos Aires Plan of Action within the context of Arab aid; and second examines the rising role of the UAE in support of countries in the South. Due to the limitation of this study, uses both quantitative and qualitative but relies mainly on secondary sources. Statistics data are taken mainly from private and governmental sources. The dependence on governmental reports is due to the absence of private statistics or studies that provide sufficient accurate statistics.

There is hardly any study that has focused merely on Arab Global South relations. However, studies on relations between Arab donors and countries of the Global South have focused mainly on Africa. Yet, there are good number of studies to have focused on the political and economic relations between Arab and other developing countries. This is because the majority of Arab aid goes mainly to Arab and some Muslim countries. Amongst the most important studies is by Robert Mertz and Pamela Mertz [Mertz, Mertz 1983]. The study looks at both the bilateral and multilateral aid from Arab donors which include the UAE, Kuwait, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya. In addition, it examines the motives and objectives of Arab aid. Mainly it looks at both the role of Islam and politics in the orientation of aid. Although the section on the UAE is brief, but it provides interesting analysis of how the UAE have managed to provide good amount of aid to Sub-Saharan Africa. The study, however, does not look at the `South-- South cooperation' dimension, rather on how Arab donors have contributed to SubSaharan Africa.

In addition, M. Rouis' study [Rouis 2010] provides some interesting analysis of the role of Arab countries in the South--South cooperation. Although there is no particular section examines this, the author stresses the fact that Arab donors through multilateral institutions emphasis on fostering South--South cooperation by involving technical advisers from developing member countries and by twinning institutions across member countries [Rouis 2010]. He adds that South--South cooperation is one of the hallmarks of Arab aid, and its effectiveness and lessons merit careful study [Rouis 2010]. In addition, Neumayer's study [Neumayer 2003] examines the determinants of Arab aid but focuses on Arab solidarity. This can be seen as cooperation with developing countries in the Middle East. However, he does not examine South--South cooperation. Overall, most studies look at South-South cooperation from a multilateral aid perspective but not bilaterally. This is because Arab aid is known to be mostly bilateral. Therefore, this study seeks to fill the gap for the case of the UAE and its role in the South--South cooperation These are some of the studies that looked in general at aid from Arab countries to developing countries: [Merz, Merz 1983; Rouis 2010; Law 1978; Al-Zayed 2012; El Mallakh, Kadhim 1976; Almezaini 2012; Shushan, Marcoux 2011; Van den Boogaerde 1991; Hunter 1984; Shihata 1982]..

SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

Countries in the Global South are those who are considered from the `developing countries'. According to UNOSSC, “the term “South” or “Global South” refers to developing countries, which are located primarily in the Southern Hemisphere; The Global South includes Asia (with the exception of Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan), Central America, South America, Mexico, Africa, and the Middle East (with the exception of Israel)” [South--South and Triangular... 2016].

This term, however, has not yet been updated. This is due to the fact that there are countries in the Southern Hemisphere who have higher GDP per capita than many developed nations such as Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The measurement and factor to indicate countries that are from developing or developed should certainly be revisited. The Gulf states have developed from being aid recipient in the 1950's to become aid donors and having higher GDP per capita than many countries in the Northern Hemisphere. Those countries have developed relatively strong economies, even if some are considered rentier states. However, for the purpose of this study, below is a brief definition and analysis of South--South cooperation.

Top 22 GDP per capita

Table 1

Country Comparison: GDP -- Per Capita (PPP).

Source: Central Intelligence Agency. URL: https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/ rankorder/2004rank.html (accessed 13.06.2018).

According to United Nation Office for South--South Cooperation (UNOSSC), “South-South cooperation is a broad framework for collaboration among countries of the South in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains. Involving two or more developing countries, it can take place on a bilateral, regional, subregional or interregional basis. Developing countries share knowledge, skills, expertise and resources to meet their development goals through concerted efforts. Recent developments in South--South cooperation have taken the form of increased volume of South--South trade, South--South flows of foreign direct investment, movements towards regional integration, technology transfers, sharing of solutions and experts, and other forms of exchanges” [South--South and Triangular... 2016].

Furthermore, SSC seek to achieve wide range of objectives which include the following:

— foster the self-reliance of developing countries by enhancing their creative capacity to find solutions to their development problems in keeping with their own aspirations, values and special needs;

— promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among developing countries through the exchange of experiences; the pooling, sharing and use of their technical and other resources; and the development of their complementary capacities;

— strengthen the capacity of developing countries to identify and analyse together their main development issues and formulate the requisite strategies to address them;

— increase the quantity and enhance the quality of international development cooperation through the pooling of capacities to improve the effectiveness of the resources devoted to such cooperation;

— create and strengthen existing technological capacities in the developing countries in order to improve the effectiveness with which such capacities are used and to improve the capacity of developing countries to absorb and adapt technology and skills to meet their specific developmental needs;

— increase and improve communications among developing countries, leading to a greater awareness of common problems and wider access to available knowledge and experience as well as the creation of new knowledge in tackling development problems;

— recognize and respond to the problems and requirements of the least developed countries, land-locked developing countries, small island developing states and the countries most seriously affected by, for example, natural disasters and other crises; and enable developing countries to achieve a greater degree of participation in international economic activities and to expand international cooperation for development [South--South and Triangular... 2016].

In other words, it means the exchange of all type of resources and technologies between countries sharing development problems. Despite that this initiative seeks for cooperation between countries of the South, yet there are only limited donors capable of providing support. Those donors such as China, Brazil, Gulf States, etc. do not have clear mechanism of exchanging resources and technology with countries in the Global South. This requires further cooperation, and the SSC here play significant role in promoting the emerging donors in the global political economy. Quadir points out that although many non-Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries do not report their flow of aid to the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a recent OECD study confirms that non-traditional lending countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Israel, the Czech Republic, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, have stepped up their efforts to play a more prominent role in development cooperation in the past several years [Quadir 2013].

Gulf donors which include the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have long history of aid despite they are considered from developing countries and emerging donors. They have started cooperation with countries in developing countries before the establishment of Buenos Aires Plan of Action in 1978. They have established special funds to support their fellow Arab countries, and countries in Africa, for example, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. This is for many objectives but mainly solidarity with developing nations.

THE UAE AND SOUTH-SOUTH COOPERATION

The UAE is considered among the leading countries in supporting the initiative of SSC. Initially, regional factors in the Middle East such as Arab nationalism, religion and identities played significant guiding role in the orientation of the UAE aid. In particular, Arab solidarity constituted a major dimension. Gerd Nonneman points out that “indeed, South--South cooperation has been realized in the Middle East, particularly regarding Arab solidarity” [Nonneman 1988]. This Arab solidarity, despite still being an important factor, the UAE emerging international image as a global aid donor encouraged it to include all developing countries. This was evident in the UAE's establishment of the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development in 2013 which has been dissolved later to be part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

In 2016, as the role of the UAE in the Global South was growing, it has hosted the annual Global South--South Development Expo (GSSD Expo). In fact, it was the first ever GSSD Expo to be hosted by a member state since its establishment in 2008. This is due to the beliefs of the UAE leadership in maintaining its international role in supporting developing countries. According to the UAE SDGs report, “this was the first ever GSSD Expo hosted by a Member State. Thanks to His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and Patron of the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment, for the exceptional leadership and generous support to the GSSD Expo 2016. This special edition of South--South in Action is a compilation of not only success stories created in the UAE, but of all the stories shared by Member States and partner institutions during GSSD Expo 2016” [UAE and the 2030... 2017].

According to UNOSSC, this special edition of South--South in Action is a compilation of not only success stories created in the UAE, but of all the stories shared by Member States and partner institutions during GSSD Expo 2016 [South--South and Triangular... 2016]. In addition, the UNOSSC points out that the institutional contribution of the Government of the United Arab Emirates through the Zayed International Foundation for the Environment has provided invaluable support to our ongoing efforts to build a global partnership for sustainable development that leverages the effectiveness of Southern development solutions and highlights the progress that countries of the South have made in addressing and overcoming the challenges that they face [South--South and Triangular... 2016]. This reflects the engaging role of the UAE at the Global level. Furthermore, Dr. Zeyoudi demonstrates that over the past years, the UAE has strengthened its role in international cooperation, especially with the South, launching global initiatives focused on vital sectors such as education, health, water, energy and capacity building [South--South and Triangular... 2016].

Furthermore, and in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UAE has committed itself not only to participate in helping counties but also initiated programs that meet the SDGs. In 2016, MOFAIC launched the UAE Foreign Assistance Policy -- the nation's long-term development cooperation plan towards eradicating poverty and promoting global peace and prosperity [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017]. Within the context of SSD, the UAE played an active role in the transition from the MDGs to SDGs by participating in various high-level discussion on the formation of the SDGs [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017]. All of the SDGs are in fact objectives that seek to provide support particularly to countries in the Global South who mainly suffer from poverty, lack of health services, poor education, inequality, etc. Therefore, in 2016 76% of the UAE foreign assistance supported the eight SDGs highlighted in the UAE Foreign Assistance Policy [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017]. Furthermore, according to the UAE foreign aid report, “in 2016, the first year of the implementation of the 15-year SDGs, the UAE quantified its efforts towards each of the 17 goals that contribute to global poverty eradication and sustainable development. This support corresponds to AED 22.23 billion (USD 6.05 billion) in foreign aid disbursements” [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017]. In addition, it stated that the UAE's top three supported SDGs in 2016 -- SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) -- accounted for nearly 70% of the total [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017].

Therefore, the engagement of the UAE with SSD and SDGs reflects the continuing development of the UAE aid from a regionally focused to be side by side with and its proving international aid donors. This has encouraged the Emirates to initiate various domestic policies. It has created a special portal for the UAE's dedication for the support and implementation of the SDGs. It monitors and shows all the activities of governmental and non-governmental aid agencies in the UAE that goes in line in achieving the SDGs For further information about this portal visit URL: www.uaesdgs.ae (accessed 13.06.2018).. Furthermore, in 2017 it has established a National Committee on Sustainable Development Goals. According to the first report by the Committee, “a national implementation plan is a strategy for how SDGs will align with a country's development agenda and how policy implementation will be prioritized and embedded within a government's policy decision-making and statistical reporting processes” [UAE and the 2030... 2017]. The two figures below show the UAE's timeline of the development towards SDGs and the UAE's distribution of aid based on these goals.

Fig. 1. UAE and SDGs Timeline
Source: [UAE Foreign Aid report 2016]

However, what explains the UAE's rising role in supporting countries of the Global South and SSC? There is great number of factors that led the UAE to adapt this role, but mainly to one main factor: Solidarity.

SOLIDARITY

The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) is attempting to build on these concepts of solidarity, which act as important drivers of public support for international assistance, beyond neighbourhood and brotherhood to humanity as a whole, so that the forms of solidarity become more and more universal in supporting those in need [Cotterrell, Harmer 2005]. This is certainly shared with the UAE's leadership. According to the UAE Foreign Aid Report, the Vice-President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum stated: “Our nation believes in the importance of solidarity and synergy among all countries of the world, and we are keen to make the UAE an active and effective member in the international community through channelling its foreign aid to the global thematic priorities identified by the international development and relief organizations, which are consistent with the development goals of fighting poverty, ignorance and illness” [UAE Foreign Aid... 2017]. Solidarity was evident in the UAE's objectives and orientation of aid since 1970's, even it has fluctuated due to the changing dynamics in the Middle East and the world.

Solidarity with countries in the Middle East and other developing countries have been playing a major role in the orientation of the UAE aid. During the early years, countries that faced similar security threats, recognized the UAE's existence and accepted to side with the UAE. This included countries that share language and religion with the UAE, as well as countries in Africa that have different languages and religions. It was a sign of the emergence of the `solidarity' dimension in the UAE aid despite some criticism. For the UAE RCS, the guiding idea is that “charitable donations must be free of any ulterior purposes or intent and given simply because there is a need and an obligation to share the suffering of others as part of our own humanity. This begins with our own country, then neighbours, and widens outwards” [Cotterrell, Harmer 2005]. The UN and main international aid organization seek to encourage all donors to consider `solidarity' as their main driver to assist other nations. As the table shows, largest aid recipient for the UAE are mainly in Asia and Africa where the poorest countries in the world exist.

Table 2

Top 25 Countries of UAE Funds Disbursed (In AED millions, 2013)

Source: UAE Foreign Aid Mini Report 20 1 33.

Distribution of UAE aid 2014--2016 (in USD millions, and as % of total)

Table 3

Source: UAE Foreign Aid Report 20164.

³ UAE Foreign AID. URL: https://www.mofa.gov.ae/EN/TheMinistry/UAEForeignPolicy/Pages/ UAEFAR.aspx (accessed 13.06.2018).

⁴ Ibid.

During the early years of the Emirates, development aid focused mainly on countries that share with the UAE similar developmental issues as well as history, language, religion and culture. This has included all Arab countries, where the UAE with all major Arab donors established the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). This has played significant role in supporting Arab developing countries. According to the AFESD, “the principal purpose of the Arab Fund is to contribute to the financing of economic and social development projects in the Arab countries. To attain this purpose, the Arab Fund provides financing for economic development projects by extending loans, on concessionary terms, to governments and public corporations and enterprises of member states, giving preference to projects which are vital to the Arab World and joint Arab projects. It serves as a catalyst for encouraging the investment, directly or indirectly, of public and private capital in a manner conducive to the development of the Arab economy and provides expertise and technical support in the various spheres of economic development” [Purpose of the Fund 2017c].

Table 4