Donor conference on the crisis in Syria
30 January 2013 News
Syrian society is being torn asunder and destroyed by the conflict that has continued into a second year, and it is the responsibility of the international community to alleviate the humanitarian crisis, Foreign Minister Nickolay Mladenov said during a donor conference on Syria, held today in Kuwait.
He told the conference that Bulgaria is to grant 150 000 euro to the UN Food Program, which is operating in the conflict-ridden Arab country. Earlier, it was estimated that to provide for the Humanitarian Response Plan and the Regional Plan for refugees, $1.5 billion would be needed by mid-2013 alone.
The conference brought together about 60 donor countries, as well as a number of UN agencies, and was chaired by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Participants included European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva.
I hope that after this meeting today, we will send a strong signal to the international community that the crisis in Syria needs not only a humanitarian but also a political response, Minister Mladenov said.