Brussels: The UAE has pledged to donate Dh250 million ($68 million) in aid of the Syrian people.
The donation was announced by Maitha Salem Al Shamsi, Minister of State, during the “Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, which is co-chaired by the European Union, the United Nations and with the governments of Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar and the United Kingdom.
The two-day conference, which was held at ministerial level, brought together over 70 countries, international organisations and civil society.
The conference began just a day after at least 58 people, including 11 children, were reported killed in a suspected chemical attack. It remains unclear who is responsible, but many fingers pointed toward the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
“The difficult humanitarian situation of the Syrian people is one of the great concerns of the UAE, which has always been among the first countries that took upon itself to help alleviating the suffering of the Syrian people, whether it be through relief and humanitarian support or through political and diplomatic efforts aiming to end the conflict,” Al Shamsi said.
Nearly half the Syrian population has been displaced by the violence, with millions seeking sanctuary in neighbouring Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey, or heading further west to Europe.
UN agencies estimate war damage across Syria so far at $350 billion (Dh1.28 trillion), including physical destruction and the loss of economic activity. Four out of five people are living in poverty.
Meanwhile, Al Shamsi underlined that the UAE has always been participating in all meetings of donors, where it pledged $597 million, but the value of its aid exceeded all the amounts it had pledged.
The UAE provided $832 million in assistance in 2016, out of which $144 million through the year 2016, which outstripped the $137 million it pledged at a donor's Conference in London in 2015.
