International donors pledged near to $6.13 billion to Syria at an EU-led conference on 15 June in a bid to allegedly help the Syrian people overcome poverty following the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Turkiye and the Arab state in February, killing over 50,000 people.
Around $5 billion of the funds was allocated to Syria for 2023, while $1.1 billion is reserved for 2024.
The EU pledged nearly $4.2 billion in grants – $2.3 billion sent by the European Commission and $1.9 billion from EU governments.
However, the UN has confirmed that only a tenth of the total amount has been secured for 2023.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell remarked:” “As the biggest donor for the Syrian people, the EU needs to – and we want to – make sure that their situation remains high on the international agenda.”
He added that the EU-hosted conference is the largest annual pledge for the war-torn Arab country, as well as a demonstration of the international community’s commitment to finding solutions to the ongoing conflict in Syria that has lasted for 13 years.
The conflict was instigated by foreign parties such as the US, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, which sought to topple the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad via extreme militant groups. Several provinces within Syria continue to be controlled by anti-government militias, which seek to prolong Syria’s national insecurity.
The US, the EU, and its allies primarily seek to help the areas in Syria that are not controlled by the government, as the west continues to reiterate that it will not normalize relations with Damascus. However, majority of the Syrian population live in government-controlled territory.
After the Syrian government opened its border crossing for aid deliveries following the earthquake, humanitarian aid from the international community was allocated to opposition-controlled provinces such as Idlib, which is currently held by the Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as the Nusra Front – an offshoot of Al-Qaeda.
On 12 February, a UN spokesman claimed that HTS prevented a SARC humanitarian aid convoy at the Saraqib border crossing from entering Idlib. The Saraqib crossing is the link between HTS-held Idlib and the territories held by Damascus.
Subsequent to Iran and Saudi Arabia resuming relations in March after years of tensions, several regional nations have followed in the kingdom’s footsteps by normalizing relations with Iran and its allies, such as Syria, which was recently readmitted into the Arab League.
After years of backing extremist groups that sought to overthrow Assad, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi recently restored relations with Damascus, drawing the ire of the West.
On 15 June, Saudi Arabia and the UAE also lobbied with several European allies to restore diplomatic relations with Syria and ease economic sanctions on Damascus.
Syria’s economic recovery could open the doors for the return of millions of Syrian refugees back to their homeland, the Gulf officials reportedly argue, in turn easing pressure on regional countries that have borne the brunt of the refugee crisis created by the Western-sponsored war – namely Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkiye.