Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani announced a new pledge of $100m in 2018 by the State of Qatar in continuation of its commitment to alleviate the Syrian humanitarian disaster.

The Minister made the remarks as he addressed the second Brussels Conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region” in the presence of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, High Representative of the EU for Foreign and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, and a large number of officials.

As part of the State of Qatar’s pledge to support the oppressed people of Syria, Doha continues to commit itself to alleviating the impact of the Syrian humanitarian disaster, the Minister said as he announced a new pledge of $100m for 2018.

He added that as part of Qatar’s strategy of building peace and stability through education, 50 percent of the grant will be allocated to educate Syrian students inside and outside Syria.

On this day of last year, the same countries participated in the first Brussels conference and the meeting may take place again next year and even until the 10th edition while the Syrian crisis prevails because of the absence of a political solution that countries have long declared that they agree upon but disagree upon its form.

 Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met separately yesterday with Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Norway, Ine Marie Eriksen, Republic of Malta, George William Vella, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic, Angelino Alfano, on the sidelines of the second Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region.

 The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, HE Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said that the international community began to move after the recent chemical attack, which was one of many on the Syrian people, adding that pain was visible on the faces of children and women. He stressed that the international community should resolve the issue of the Syrian people and not deal with just one attack, noting that this should happen through a political solution that all parties agree on.

He concluded that the State of Qatar will continue to support the Syrian people. The previous Brussels conference saw the State of Qatar pledge $100m, and fulfilled that pledge and even increased it to $108m, while its contribution to the London 2016 conference amounted to $101.241m.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Prime Minister called on the international community to condemn the attempts to manipulate humanitarian aid in Syria and to ensure the protection of civilians and not to use them for political blackmail.

Addressing the third panel discussion on the humanitarian aspect of the second Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, he said that there are many issues related to this crisis, the most important of which are the protection of civilians and the way this war has been conducted.

He criticised the lack of respect for the rules of war in Syria and the region and the ensuing mass killings, saying: “We believe that our responsibility to protect civilians is far greater than ensuring humanitarian passage where humanitarian aid is delivered, it is how to stop the mass murder in this war”.

He noted that nearly 3 million Syrians are unable to access humanitarian aid, stressing that it is important to ensure that those people are not used for political blackmail, and to ensure an open safe passage for them.

Source: Qatar News Agency.