The Secretary of State for International Development, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn is to visit the international headquarters of Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) in Birmingham on Tuesday 30th January 2007, between 12 and 2pm.
Mr Benn will be given a tour of the charity’s offices in Digbeth and will address an audience on the importance of humanitarian work.
Islamic Relief has a long-established relationship with the UK Department for International Development (DFID) which stretches back over 12 years.
DFID currently funds a number of IRW projects in different parts of the world. Last year DFID signed a new partnership working agreement with Islamic Relief that included a commitment to fund humanitarian projects to the value of three-quarters of a million pounds a year for the next five years.
The funds will boost Islamic Relief’s ongoing efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals, including providing access to better health care for mothers and children in Pakistan.
Ahead of his visit Mr Benn said:
“DFID has worked closely with Islamic Relief to get life saving supplies to survivors in the aftermath of the Asian tsunami, Pakistan earthquake and other disasters. I congratulate them on receiving the prestigious Star of Sacrifice award from the Government of Pakistan for their hard work and look forward to the future, fighting poverty together.”
President of Islamic Relief, Dr Hany El Banna, OBE said:
“It is a great pleasure to welcome Mr Benn to our offices. In the last 20 years we have received tremendous support from DFID. This has helped build a strong working relationship based on trust, independence and a commitment to alleviating poverty in the developing world.”