LOC08:22
05:22 GMT
KUWAIT, March 31 (KUNA) -- Kuwait hosts the Third International Pledging Humanitarian Conference for Syria on Tuesday in yet another show of leadership by the Arab Gulf country, which has rushed to help the Syrian people since break out of their crisis over four years ago.
As many as 78 countries and over 40 international organizations gather in Kuwait for the third time in three years with high hopes pledges will exceed those made during Kuwait I and Kuwait II, held in 2013 and 2014 respectively.
Kuwait I pledged USD 1.5 billion and Kuwait II contributed USD 2.4 billion for the Syrian people, of them Kuwait contributed USD 800 million.
Kuwait hosted a meeting of non-governmental organizations yesterday, where NGOs pledged USD 506 million to help some 12.5 million Syrians who were either internally displaced or refugees in neighboring countries - Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and Egypt.
The International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) announced the total pledges, surpassing USD 348 million pledges made at the second NGOs conference for the Syrian people held in Kuwait in January 2014.
It said that Kuwaiti NGOs and figures, already active on the ground to help the Syrians, pledged USD 88 million.
The IICO said GCC, Islamic countries and international pledges amounted to USD 418 million.
His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad, addressing the recent Arab summit held in Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, called for "active and generous participation" in today's conference. He expressed hope the convention would end "with its objectives realized so that we could help our brothers to enable them cope with repercussions of this destructive conflict."
His Highness the Amir indicated that he had responded positively to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon request to host the conference, sensing "volume of the catastrophe.
"The conflict in Syria will only end with political settlement that safeguards its sovereignty and territorial sanctity and restores its stability," said His Highness the Amir, who was honored by the UN last September as a "Humanitarian Leader."
The UN is scheduled to table a plan to raise funds required to meet needs outlined in the 2015 Syria Strategic Response Plan (SRP) and the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan (3RP) 2015-16.
In all, responding to the crisis in Syria and its spillover in the region will require USD 2.9 billion for SRP and USD 5.5 billion for 3RP.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in an interview with KUNA and Kuwait TV, hoped world leaders emulate His Highness the Amir's humanitarian leadership, describing him as the "Global Humanitarian Champion."
Ban expressed his deepest appreciation to His Highness the Amir for his generous and compassionate leadership in Kuwait III for Syria.
Ban, noting the Syrian people dire need of resources of all kinds, called on the world leaders to take part in this pledging conference.
"I sincerely hope that the international community to render their warm helping hands," he said.
The UN Chief expressed his gratefulness that more than 90 percent of the pledges that have been committed in the last Kuwait conference. (end)
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