The European Union will bring together international donors on Monday to try to rally financing for Syria’s fragile recovery after the ouster of its longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad.
For the first time the Syrian authorities will be represented at the annual gathering in Brussels — with interim foreign minister Assaad Al Shibani set to attend.
Western and regional powers are desperate to steer Syria onto the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.
But an outbreak of deadly violence this month — the worst since Assad was toppled in December — has rocked confidence in the new Islamist-led authorities.
“Our objective with this conference is to stand with Syria while stressing the need for a successful transition,” an EU official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The EU has held its annual donor drive for Syria for the past eight years — but it mainly focused on supporting refugees in neighbouring countries and avoided any contacts with the Assad regime.
“This year, of course, the conference will be different,” the official said.
“It’s a window of opportunity. It’s not very, very wide open. So we’ve got to benefit from the moment, otherwise it could be too late.”
Syria’s needs are massive as swathes of the country lie in ruins and the economy has been ravaged by years of international isolation after Assad’s 2011 crackdown on opposition sparked the civil war.
The United Nations says that at current growth rates, Syria would need more than 50 years to get back to its economic level before the outbreak of its devastating civil war.
The country still faces a dire humanitarian situation with an estimated 16.7 million people in need of assistance.
“What we want to do is respond to the immediate needs straight away,” the EU official said.
US pullback?
Syria’s new rulers — headed by former Islamist rebel commander Ahmed al-Sharaa — have been clamouring for assistance to help the country’s recovery.
The EU has eased sanctions on key sectors of the economy, but along with other powers it insists the authorities must make good on promises for an inclusive transition.
There have been positive moves from Damascus, including Sharaa signing a constitutional declaration laying out a five-year transitional period and rights for women and freedom of expression.
But hopes were shaken by the violence on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, which a war monitor said saw security forces kill nearly 1,500 civilians, most of them members of the Alawite minority to which the Assad family belongs.
Last year’s donor drive raised 7.5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) dollars in grants and loans to help the people of Syria.
Efforts to top that level this time round could however be hit by US President Donald Trump’s axing of Washington’s foreign aid budget.
A representative from the US government is expected at the Brussels event, EU officials said.
Up until now the United States has been the single biggest individual donor to fund humanitarian efforts in Syria, according to the United Nations.
“The global system of humanitarian aid in general was based on two pillars — one was the United States, a very large one, and the other one was the EU and its member states,” a second EU official said.
“Now one of the two pillars is somehow reducing very much, if not cutting completely, some of their operation, and this implies a scarcity of humanitarian funds worldwide.”
Even before Trump’s return to power the United Nations’ humanitarian response plan remained woefully underfunded at just 35 percent of the $4.1 billion demanded.
EU officials said they hope Arab countries in the Middle East will step up to help fill any gaps left by the United States.
There are expected to be other conferences focused on funding reconstruction in Syria in the future, they said.
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