Saudi donations for Tsunami victims exceed $ 80 million

The donation campaign carried out by the Saudi government via TV screens for the victims of Asia floods ( Tsunami) resulted in more than 308 million Saudi riyals, ( $ 83.13 million).

The campaign which continued until Friday at dawn in the official Saudi TV called for help in facing this catastrophe which claimed the lives of 150,000 persons and displaced more than 1.5 million.

The Saudi King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and the Crown Prince Abdullah and other main figures in the Saudi royal family launched the campaign by a donation of ten million dollars by King Fahd. Saudi citizens and residents in Saudi Arabia offered sums, jewelry and garments.

The Saudi government had increase the volume of its donation to the victims to reach $ 30 million.

On the other hand, Kuwait's foreign minister Sheikh Muhammad al-Sabah said that his country decided to reschedule the debts of the devastated Asian countries estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars. the Kuwaiti minister did not specify countries benefiting from this decision nor the size of the loans.

The Kuwaiti Fund for development, a government fund, gives loans for development at very low interest rate offered Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Maldives, India and Sri Lanka loans estimated in all at $ 763 million.

The Kuwaiti government donated 10 million dollars to the victims but the local dailies criticized the oil rich states donations over the "poor contributions" to Tsunami victims. The UAE vowed to give $ 20 million and Qatar of $ 25 million in addition to foodstuffs and medical aids. Al-Jazeera TV in Qatar launched a campaign for the relief of Tsunami victims. The Campaign is conducted in coordination with the federation of the societies of the international federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.