LONDON: Bill Gates pledged on Thursday to give away almost his entire personal wealth in the next two decades and said the world’s poorest would receive some $200 billion via his foundation at a time when governments worldwide are slashing international aid.
The 69-year-old billionaire Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist said he was speeding up plans to divest his fortune and close the Gates Foundation on Dec. 31, 2045.
“People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that ‘he died rich’ will not be one of them,” Gates wrote in a post on his website.
“There are too many urgent problems to solve for me to hold onto resources that could be used to help people.”
In an implicit rebuke to President Donald Trump’s slashing of aid from the world’s biggest donor the United States, Gates’ statement said he wanted to help stop newborn babies, children and mothers dying of preventable causes, end diseases like polio, malaria and measles, and reduce poverty.
“It’s unclear whether the world’s richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people,” he added, noting cuts from major donors also including the UK and France.
Gates said that despite the foundation’s deep pockets, progress would not be possible without government support.
He praised the response to aid cuts in Africa, where some governments have reallocated budgets, but said that as an example polio would not be eradicated without US funding.
Gates made the announcement on the foundation’s 25th anniversary. He set up the organization with his then-wife Melinda French Gates in 2000, and they were later joined by investor Warren Buffett.
“I have come a long way since I was just a kid starting a software company with my friend from middle school,” he said.
Since inception, the foundation has given away $100 billion, helping to save millions of lives and backing initiatives like the vaccine group Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
It will close after it spends around 99 percent of his personal fortune, Gates said. The founders originally expected the foundation to wrap up in the decades after their deaths.
Gates, who is valued at around $108 billion today, expects the foundation to spend around $200 billion by 2045, with the final figure dependent on markets and inflation.
The foundation is already a huge player in global health, with an annual budget that will reach $9 billion by 2026.
It has faced criticism for its outsize power and influence in the field without the requisite accountability, including at the World Health Organization.
Gates himself was also subject to conspiracy theories, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Gates has also spoken to US President Donald Trump several times in recent months on the importance of continued investment in global health.
“I hope other wealthy people consider how much they can accelerate progress for the world’s poorest if they increased the pace and scale of their giving, because it is such a profoundly impactful way to give back to society,” Gates wrote.

DHAKA: Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh held the first meeting of their Joint Committee on Defense Cooperation, as Dhaka seeks to strengthen its security ties with the Kingdom. 

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Khalidi, assistant chief of training and development of the Armed Forces of Saudi Arabia, was in Dhaka to lead a Saudi delegation for the three-day talks, which concluded on Thursday. 

The Bangladeshi side was led by Lt. Gen. S.M. Kamrul Hassan, principal staff officer of Bangladesh’s Armed Forces Division during the discussion. 

“This is ... the first time that Bangladesh held a Joint Committee Defense Cooperation meeting with Saudi Arabia,” Lt. Colonel Sami-Ud-Dowla Chowdhury, director of Bangladeshi military’s media wing ISPR, told Arab News. 

“Both countries have signed a protocol on Thursday aimed at proceeding further with the discussions held on Tuesday in Dhaka.” 

The Saudi-Bangladesh defense cooperation covers several areas, including joint exercises, arms procurement, indigenous production capability and expertise sharing, Chowdhury said. 

“With this, Bangladesh developed a defense-to-defense relation with one of our very trusted friends, Saudi Arabia. And definitely, it will open up a new horizon for increased defence cooperation.”

Bangladesh is ready to contribute its operational knowledge with Saudi Arabia, he added, pointing to the military’s experience in various locations around the world, including as one of the highest contributors of UN peacekeepers. 

The country ranks third in the top troop-contributing countries to UN peacekeeping missions, with more than 5,600 personnel as of February this year. 

“(This) operational knowledge could be helpful for Saudi Arabia for a better doctrine of military understanding. (The meeting) can be described as an elevation in terms of defense cooperation between Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia,” Chowdhury said. 

The joint meeting comes after Bangladesh’s Air Force chief, Marshal Hasan Mahmood Khan, visited the Kingdom in February. 

Dhaka and Riyadh signed in 2019 an agreement to further their military cooperation, which has served as a basis for their collaborations in the field.

Stronger defense ties with Saudi Arabia would be beneficial for Bangladesh, especially if it entails more joint exercises between the two countries, said Ishfaq Ilahi Choudhury, a defense expert and retired air officer of Bangladesh’s Air Force. 

“This is a very good idea,” he told Arab News. 

“We don’t have deserts in our country. If our officers and soldiers take part in joint exercises with Saudi Arabia’s forces, our forces members will get acquainted with desert warfare. On the other hand, Saudi defense personnel can have experiences from Bangladesh over the riverine warfare tactics, jungle warfare, etc.” 

Both nations have opportunities to scale up collaborations across different areas, he added. With the assistance of Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh can develop its ordnance factories, and further its defense equipment and logistics production capabilities. 

“It’s a field of endless opportunities,” Choudhury said.