KUWAIT, Feb 14 (KUNA) -- United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday hailed His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah's action over the Syrian refugee crisis, when the rest of the international community failed to respond.
Addressing the "Kuwait International Conference for the Reconstruction of Iraq," the UN chief pointed out that His Highness the Amir's determination was the catalyst for three international conferences over the plight of Syrian refugees.
Guterres said "I will never forget serving as high commissioner for refugees during the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world; in Syria, which was met with indifference from the international community."
In words directed at His Highness the Amir, Guterres noted "thanks to your vision, courage, patience and diligence, you managed to gather the international community on three occasions to shore up needed resources to alleviate the suffering of Syrian refugees. And this I will never forget."
Guterres noted that the triumvirate of conferences brought together representatives of 78 nations as well as 40 international organizations, in addition to 100 non-governmental organizations.
The series of talks, all of which were presided over by His Highness the Amir, yielded pledges worth USD 7.7 billion, with Kuwait contributing a share of USD 1.3 billion.
He went on to express his gratitude to His Highness the Amir for his commitment to peace in the region. (pickup previous)
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