New delhi: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) continues its efforts to support refugees by focusing on projects that enhance livelihoods and ensure food security. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, organized a two-day visit to New Delhi in collaboration with MBRGI to evaluate the conditions of Afghan, Rohingya, and Chin refugees. The visit aimed to identify their basic needs and review ongoing efforts to help them navigate challenging circumstances. It also sought to highlight the impact of joint humanitarian and development programs implemented by MBRGI and UNHCR in India.
According to Emirates News Agency, the delegation included Mohammed Al Yamahi, Project Director at MBRGI; Saudi artist and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Aseel Omran; and Bisan Salameh, Private Sector Partnerships Officer at UNHCR. They visited refugee families in India to highlight their resilience and express solidarity. During their visit, they toured the Bosco Community Centre in New Delhi, attended a UNHCR briefing on its activities, and learned about refugee-led initiatives supported by MBRGI that aim to improve living conditions and livelihoods.
The delegation met with families benefiting from MBRGI and UNHCR projects to discuss ways to enhance these programs’ efficiency and expand their reach. They participated in food distribution activities at the Bosco Community Centre and delivered food rations to vulnerable groups unable to visit the center. Mohammed Al Yamahi and Aseel Omran also visited small refugee-run projects to understand their objectives, operations, and challenges.
Ibrahim Al Balooshi, Director of Sustainability and Partnerships at MBRGI, emphasized MBRGI’s commitment to assisting forcibly displaced people worldwide through ambitious programs that address basic needs, empower individuals with skills, and enable them to manage small-scale projects. Bisan Salameh highlighted the collaboration with MBRGI as a model for achieving humanitarian goals, noting that the partnership has assisted hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons in Asia and Africa since 2021.
Aseel Omran described the visit as a deeply human experience, emphasizing the need for psychological support among refugees. The cooperation between MBRGI and UNHCR in India is part of a broader partnership that began in 2021, with MBRGI contributing AED136 million (about US$37 million) by the end of 2024, benefiting more than 750,000 refugees, displaced persons, and host community members across Asia and Africa.
In India specifically, MBRGI’s contributions have amounted to AED29.7 million (US$8.1 million), supporting over 100,000 refugees through livelihoods and food assistance. In January 2025, MBRGI pledged an additional AED36.7 million (US$10 million) for sustainable programs for displaced communities, bringing total commitments since 2021 to AED173 million (around US$47 million). MBRGI, the largest foundation of its kind in the region, spent over AED2.2 billion in 2024, impacting nearly 149 million people in 118 countries through initiatives across five key pillars.