Kuwait honoring pledges for Syria, says diplomat
Donors meeting kicks off in Beirut
BEIRUT, Jan 24, (KUNA): The State of Kuwait is honoring its pledge to earmark $100 million for relieving the Syrian people in 2018, a Kuwaiti official announced here on Wednesday.
Kuwait is adhering to commitments to allocate aid for the Syrian people, namely the pledge made during the donors’ conference in Brussels and London, said the assistant foreign minister for the international organizations affairs department at the foreign ministry, minister plenipotentiary, Nasser Al-Hain.
He was speaking during the 12th meeting of the Group of Senior Donors to Syria that kicked off in the Lebanese capital with Kuwait’s participation on Wednesday.
Kuwait, being a member of the United Nations Security Council and designated as the Humanitarian Center,
Minister plenipotentiary, Nasser
Al-Hain
ensures that voice of the stricken be heard across the world, the Kuwaiti diplomat said.
Moreover, the State of Kuwait coordinates with the Syrian question stakeholders to ensure legitimacy for delivering assistance to the war victims in Syria.
During the Brussels conference, held in April, Kuwait vowed to specialize $300 million for the Syrian people, at a rate of $100 million each year between 2016 and 2018.
The pledges for 2016 and 2017 have been honored, with Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and Kuwait Foundation for Advancement of Sciences signing memos with the refugees’ hosting countries for contributions in the medical, educational and service sectors, in addition to offering $29 million to international agencies that help refugees in Syria and the neighboring countries.
Moreover, Kuwaiti charities pledged $46 million during the Qatar conference on Syria, held in April 2017.
The Kuwaiti leadership remains committed to efforts aimed at addressing the Syrian people’s urgent humanitarian needs, an official said on Tuesday, adding these include $1.6 billion in pledges made over several global donors’ conferences.
“Kuwait has had a pioneering role in hosting three successive pledging conferences upon the generous initiative of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad AlJaber Al-Sabah, who is relentless in his support of the humanitarian needs of our Syrian brothers,” he said.
The visit, including officials from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and the European Union, is important to witness the labours refugee host nations have to bear.
It comes in response to an invitation from United Nations special humanitarian envoy Ahmad Al-Meraikhi made at the donor nations’ most recent talks, said the Kuwaiti official.
Al-Hain reiterated Kuwait’s commitment to the refugees and thanked Lebanon for its efforts on hosting and assisting the vast number of refugees.
For her part, United Nations High Commissioner (UNHCR) representative in Lebanon Mireille Girard highlighted Kuwait’s huge role in supporting the Syrian refugees, and providing financial support to a number of UN agencies, including the UNHCR.