LOC16:42
13:42 GMT
KUWAIT, March 31 (KUNA) -- Nations neighbouring Syria urged donor nations to pledge funds to detailed plans focusing on long-term development aid for millions of Syrian refugees they are hosting after fleeing their country's conflict.
Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt all made appeals to international representatives meeting at aid-pledging talks in Kuwait aimed at raising pledges for Syrian refugees they are hosting.
Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said that his nation's Response Plan highlights a current shortfall of USD 2.9 billion for Jordan alone.
Turkish Development Minister Cevdet Yilmiz said that Turkey has been bearing a "huge burden" since opening its borders to Syrians fleeing from the neighbouring conflict in 2011.
Turkey which hosts the brunt of the refugees, with over 1.7 million Syrian refugees and over 250,000 who have sought asylum, has provided these families with all their essential needs, he added.
Lebanon's Prime Minister Tammam Salam said that his country is currently hosting Syrian refugee numbers equal to around a third of its population - 1.5 million.
This presents huge challenges to the already crumbling infrastructure of the country, he added.
Salam mentioned that aid was needed for his country to cope with these matters.
Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi focused on the need to address the causes of the displacement.
Iraq already has a problem of handling around two million refugees of their own, he said.
He also pointed out a two-pronged approach to the humanitarian disaster, including providing assistance to Syrians on the inside and refugees who have fled abroad and stopping the bloodshed through a political and social solution.
Despite Egypt not sharing borders with Syria, Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri said that his country is currently hosting around 300,000 Syrian refugees, who fled to Egypt since the outbreak of violence in 2011.
He said that Egypt was taking the matter seriously and had pledged its efforts on accommodating the number. (end)
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