Arab conference to strengthen humanitarian action opens in Kuwait

Attending the opening of the Annual Conference on Partnership and Information Sharing for Better Humanitarian Action, UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos highlighted the need for strengthened partnerships between regional Governments and the humanitarian community.

"This conference goes to the heart of our mission at OCHA: coordination between relief agencies and the sharing of information to improve our response to crises around the world," said Ms. Amos. "It is incredibly heartening to see support building in the Gulf region and to feel the momentum for people, organizations and governments to join together and provide a coordinated and well-informed response to humanitarian crises."

A web-based Arab Humanitarian Portal, offering vital information in Arabic for the first time, was launched at the conference to serve as a platform for dialogue and data sharing. The portal is a result of the two previous conferences which took place in Muscat, Oman (2010), and in Kuwait City (2011).

The two-day conference, held at the headquarters of the International Charitable Organization (IICO), brings together senior regional and international officials, and aid workers, private sector companies and media representatives. They will discuss ways to improve strategic planning and achieve better results through effective collaboration and sharing of information.

"The conference is considered as a platform to discuss real time humanitarian challenges and to come out with practical solutions," said Abdullah Al-Maatouq, the head of IICO. "The conference aims to enable humanitarian organisations to fulfil their roles towards currently occurring humanitarian disasters in Syria, Yemen and Myanmar."

Among the speakers were H.E Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Kuwait; H.E Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council; H.E. Ambassador Atta El Manan Bakhit, Assistant Secretary General for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, H.E. Ambassador. Mohamed Moussa Sobeih, Assistant Secretary General - Sector of Palestine and Arab Occupied Territories, League of Arab States and H.E Ambassador Ahmed Al-Meraikhi, Director of International Development Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar.