Syrian businessmen donate to establish centre to combat extremism

AMMAN — A Syrian business group has donated to establish a centre to combat extremism in the Middle East and the region which will be based in the US, according to Moataz Al Khayyat, the head of Al Khayyat Group.

At a gathering held recently by the Association of Syrian Christians for Peace in Washington, DC, last week, Khayyat, who heads a delegation of Syrian businessmen in the Gulf region to the US, discussed the efforts US businesses can offer to rebuild Syria and rehabilitate more than 5 million Syrian refugees in Syria and neighbouring countries once stability is restored.

Khayyat said building a centre to fight fanaticism and radicalism “has become a top priority to safeguard social fabric in the region and is equally urgent to go hand-in-hand with rebuilding Syria”, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

He said the war has exhausted and destroyed Syria and “we have to take every effort as Syrian businessmen to meet influential international players in the United States in order to help put an end to the humanitarian sufferings of the Syrian people.”

Khayyat said the group has offered 20 scholarships for Syrian students studying at American universities.

The Syrian delegation held meetings with US lawmakers and government officials and discussed the participation of Syrian businessmen in efforts to reach swift solutions to some rebuilding and rehabilitation issues in their country and the participation of their US counterparts in rebuilding efforts.

The delegation also met members of the American Chamber of Commerce and a number of senior American businessmen in Washington and New York, the statement said.