Simply Abu Dhabi XXIX

8 5 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I A peacekeeper and humanitarian In the 1990s, the Sheikh realised that the UAE might play a more active role in international peacekeeping operations. Throughout the decade, the UAE Armed Forces took part in coalitions to work towards ending the civil strife in Lebanon and reconstruction fin Somalia. In early 1999, Sheikh Zayed was among the first world leaders to express support for the NATO campaign to force Serbia to halt its genocidal activities against the people of Kosovo. From late 1999 to 2001, the UAE contingent serving with the UN’s KFOR peacekeeping force was the largest from any of the non-NATO states, and the only one from an Arab or Muslim country. While the UAE was ready to help fulfil its international responsibilities, Sheikh Zayed was also adamant that the nation’s role be focused on relief and rehabilitation efforts across the world. In the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and other regions, the UAE’s policies were a reflection of the Sheik’s desire to share the UAE’s good fortune with the less fortunate. The Sheikh was a devoted philanthropist and in his personal life, he lived modestly. In his view, the oil wealth in the UAE was a gift fromGod, one that must be shared with people in need. He founded the Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, even before the foundation of the UAE. Through these, and other institutions like the Red Crescent Society, Sheikh Zayed provided economic assistance to at least 40 countries on three continents and endowed many charitable works. To this day, the UAE plays a significant role in providing relief and development assistance worldwide.