ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 29th Mar, 2021) The UAE today participated in the "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region" conference held in Brussels and hosted by the United Nations and the European Union for the fifth year, during which the UAE pledged USD 30 million in support of international efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people and providing the necessary funding for humanitarian activities in this regard.
The UAE was represented at the international conference held virtually by Khalifa Shaheen Al Marar, Minister of State, as well as representatives of donor countries and specialized humanitarian organizations and bodies.
Al Marar underscored in his speech that the UAE believes strongly in a political solution as the only way out of the Syrian crisis and stressed its full support for the efforts of the United Nations and the United Nations Special Envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, as well as other international mediation efforts aimed at reaching a peace agreement based on the Geneva Conference and Security Council Resolution No. 2254. He reiterated the UAE’s rejection of foreign interference in Syrian affairs, stressing the importance of an effective Arab role in Syria and helping Syrians return to their country.
He indicated that the UAE has welcomed more than 130,000 Syrians since the beginning of the Syrian crisis and explained that the UAE, over years of war and suffering in Syria, has maintained its position in support of the Syrian people, extending a hand of assistance to Syrians inside Syria and in neighboring countries hosting refugees. He pointed out that over the past ten years, the UAE has provided more than USD 1.11 billion in relief aid to Syrian refugees inside Syria and in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Greece. Moreover, Al Marar noted that this aid included the provision of food, shelter, and healthcare, as well as the establishment of field hospitals, the establishment of the Emirati-Jordanian camp in the Jordanian Mrajeeb Al Fhood area, and similar camps in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and in Greece to provide a livelihood, protection, and various social services.
He explained that the UAE is a co-founder, along with Germany and the United States, in the Syria Reconstruction Trust Fund, to which it has contributed USD 23.4 million to support stability for internally displaced Syrians.
He concluded by expressing the UAE's interest in working to mitigate the humanitarian impact and health threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Syria and on refugees.
