By Mohammed Al-Otaibi
NEW YORK, March 10 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that the 3rd Kuwait donors' conference for Syria is highly important to address the humanitarian situation facing Syrian refugees since 2011, said a UN official here Tuesday.
Speaking to KUNA, Secretary General's Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said that the previous conferences were "successful in raising funds and raising awareness," adding that the UN was working very hard with Kuwaiti authorities to ensure the success of the upcoming event.
Dujarric said that the UN Secretary General was extremely grateful to the generosity of His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and the people of Kuwait for hosting the conference and donating money in the past years to aid refugees in and outside of Syria.
Ban honored His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah for his relief aid efforts around the world, awarding him with the title of a humanitarian leader in a ceremony held in New York During the ceremony, His Highness the Amir announced that Kuwait was doubling its annual voluntary contribution to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) from USD 500,000 to USD one million.
Kuwait hosted the first donors' conference for Syria in January 2013, where 43 Member States pledged USD 1.5 billion towards humanitarian efforts.
Those funds were used to provide life-saving assistance for people of Syria in need, as well as surrounding countries.
One year later, with the situation in Syria still deteriorating, Kuwait hosted the 2nd conference which aimed again at rallying international financial support for Syria.
Upon the opening of the conference, His Highness Sheikh Sabah announced Kuwait's pledge of USD 500 million. The Kuwait second donors' conference raised USD 800 million more than the year before, bringing the total pledges to USD 2.3 billion. (end) mao.gta