Brussels Conference Raises 7Bln Euros Earthquake Relief For Turkey, Syria

BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st March, 2023) Participants in a donor conference in Brussels on Monday pledged 7 billion Euros ($7.5 billion) to help rebuild Syria and Turkey after the earthquakes, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said.

"The amount of contributions today has reached seven billion euros," he said at the end of the conference.

Earlier in the day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EC would allocate one billion euros to Turkey and over 108 million euros to Syria for the reconstruction.

Other participants of the conference also pledged to allocate additional financial assistance to the affected countries. Finland will provide 12 million euros for the reconstruction of Turkey and Syria, according to the Finnish Foreign Ministry. Romania also promised to add 1.3 million euros to the humanitarian effort. The Swiss Federal Council announced the country will allocate $9.1 million to support people that suffered from the disaster.

The European Union's total pledge reached 3.6 billion euros, which is over 50% of a total of 7 billion euros raised for Turkey and Syria by both the EU and its international partners, a statement released by the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU said.