Donors pledge $6bn in aid to Syria

• Dozens of countries at EU conference
• ‘Time of hope’ says EU foreign chief
• 16.5 million in Syria need aid

Donors at a European Union-led conference in Brussels on Monday pledged €5.8 billion ($6.3 billion) to help Syria’s new authorities as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The pledges at the Brussels gathering were less than last year’s €7.5 billion in grants and loans, as EU officials pointed to US aid cuts as a major contributing factor.

Among the donations, the German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, announced that Berlin would provide an additional €300 million for the United Nations and other organisations assisting Syrians, while the United Kingdom pledged up to £160 million ($208m) in humanitarian aid to support Syria’s recovery.

The annual “Standing with Syria” conference has been hosted by the EU since 2017, but took place without the government of Assad, who was shunned for his brutal actions in a civil war that began in 2011.

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In a first for a top official from Damascus, Syria’s foreign minister, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attended the conference along with dozens of European and Arab ministers and representatives of international organisations.

After Assad’s overthrow in December, European Union officials hope to use the conference as a fresh start, despite concerns about deadly violence this month that pitted the Islamist new rulers against Assad loyalists.

“This is a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, as tragically evidenced by the recent wave of violence in coastal areas,” the EU foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said.

But she said it was also “a time of hope”, citing an agreement struck on March 10 to integrate the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control much of Syria’s northeast, into new state institutions.

About 16.5 million people in Syria require humanitarian aid, with 12.9 million people needing food aid, according to the EU.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the meeting that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost €2.5 billion for 2025 and 2026. This includes an increase of about €160 million to its previous pledge for this year.

Earlier on Monday, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said US cuts to humanitarian and development aid had limited the money available for Syria.

“The EU is committed to supporting the Syrian people and is ready to participate in Syria’s recovery, but we can’t fill the gap left by others,” Lahbib said.

Al-Shibani expressed his appreciation for the pledge by the EU and its partners. “The reconstruction of Syria is a joint effort and a global partnership that we hope with our friends would contribute to a breakthrough to the Syrian people for further prosperity and progress,” the Syrian foreign minister said in a post on X.