LOC16:22
13:22 GMT
The Third International Pledging Humanitarian Conference for Syria
KUWAIT, March 30 (KUNA) -- Kuwait hosts Tuesday the Third International Pledging Humanitarian Conference for Syria under patronage of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Saba who answered UN call to host the conference out of keenness to honor growing humanitarian needs of the Syrian people.
Delegations from 78 countries and over 40 international organizations will take part in the one-day conference, to be inaugurated by a speech of His Highness the Amir followed by speeches by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN Under Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief coordinator Valerie Amos, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and UN Development Program (UNDP) Administrator Helem Crark.
The second session will feature speeches by the donors who will announce their pledges and UN agencies who will announce their needs. This will be followed by a joint news conference by First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and Ban.
Kuwait has been coordinating with the UN to prepare for Kuwait III, aimed at providing further assistance to some 12.5 million Syrians who are either internally displaced or refugees in neighboring countries.
Kuwait hosted the first and second donors' conferences in 2013 and 2014, with the first pledging USD 1.5 billion and the second USD 2.4 billion. Kuwait donated USD 300 million in the first and USD 500 million in the second.
Kuwait's hosting of the third conference relfected the Gulf country's keenness on the pressing international humanitarian causes, which pose a real threat to regional and international security.
Kuwait's embassies, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), Kuwait Red Crescent Society and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were all working hard to support the humanitarian and development assistance for the people in need around the world in general and the Syrians in particular.
Kuwait has always warned against neglecting the devastating consequences caused by the humanitarian crises.
The UN launched two plans for 2015-16, one appealing for USD 2.9 billion for the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and the other requesting USD 5.5 billion for the refugees in five neighboring countries - Jordan, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt.
The UN's World Food Program (WFP) announced that its operations for the Syrian IDPs and refugees in the first four months this year would cost more tha USD 214 million.
The Syrian conflict, which broke out in March 2011, caused USD 139.8 billion in economic damages in 2011-13.
The bloody crisis killed more than 220,000 people and forced some 12.5 million people to flee their homes.
His Highness the Amir, in a speech before the 26th Arab Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, two days ago, said the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria were causing devastating security threats on the region and the world.
He called for generous contributions in Kuwait III "which we hope achieve its objectives to help our brothers overcome this destructive crisis."
His Highness the Amir Kuwait approved Ban's request to host the conference "out of the fraternal responsibility."
The third international conference for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had earlier pledged USD 506 million for the Syrian people, of them USD 88 million by Kuwaiti NGOs. (end)
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