Kurdish delegation in Support Syria conference

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – A Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation participated in Supporting Syria and the Region conference to raise awareness about the situation of the Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan Region.

The UK, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, and the United Nations (UN) co-hosted the conference in London on Thursday to raise the necessary funds for the urgent and long-term needs of Syrians.

The continuing war in Syria has left thousands dead and over 12 million displaced. More than five years of internal conflicts in Syria has rendered the country a priority for humanitarian aid.

“The conference raised over USD $11 billion in pledges - $5.8 billion for 2016 and a further $5.4 billion for 2017-20 to enable partners to plan ahead,” the website reported.

KRG Minister of Planning Ali Sindi and Head of the Department of Foreign Relations (DFR) Falah Mustafa were present at the conference. They expressed the Syrian refugees’ demands in the Region.

According to a report published by DFR on Sunday, the KRG delegation met with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security, Foreign Ministers of France, Hungary, Australia, Cyprus, German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development and United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for the Middle East. The delegation discussed what the Region requires for supporting its 250,000 Syrian refugees.

Kurdistan suffers from a crippling financial crisis because of the war against the Islamic State (IS) and the refusal of the Federal Government of Iraq to pay the Region’s 17 percent budget share.

They also house nearly two million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Falling oil prices in the global markets has also left Kurdistan deprived of its most prominent financial source.

Reporting by Ehsan Mamakani

Editing by Ava Homa and Karzan Sulaivany