Donors pledge 5.8 billion euros in aid for Syria - EU

Help Syria or risk new migration wave, Red Cross tells Europe

By AFP - Mar 17,2025 - Last updated at Mar 17,2025

EU High Representative and Vice-President for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas (C), Syria's interim Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C-R), Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi (C-L) and representatives pose for a family picture on the sidelines of the Brussels IX Conference Standing with Syria: meeting the needs for a successful transition, at The Europa Building in Brussels on March 17, 2025 (AFP photo)

BRUSSELS, Belgium - International donors pledged 5.8 billion euros ($6.3 billion) in aid for Syria Monday at a Brussels conference seeking to help set the war-torn country on the road to stability after Bashar Al Assad's ouster.

"Together we have pledged a total of 5.8 billion euros in grants and loans," said EU Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica, adding that grants accounted for 4.2 billion euros and loans 1.6 billion.

Of the 5.8 billion euros, the EU vowed around 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) in aid for Syria as. "Syrians need greater support, whether they are still abroad, or they decide to go home. And this is why today, the European Union is increasing its pledge for Syrians in the country and in the region to almost 2.5 billion euros for 2025 and 2026," European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen told a donor conference in Brussels.

Failure to help Syria "get back on its feet" will result in a fresh wave of outward migration, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross warned Monday, as the EU hosted a donor drive for the war-torn country.

More than 300,000 refugees have returned to Syria hoping to start over following the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, according to the United Nations.

But the situation in the country is fragile, with outbursts of violence and the conflict's legacy of destruction making aid all the more indispensable, said ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric.

"When you don't have schools for your children, when you don't have functioning hospitals, when you don't have access to water and energy, when your house is still collapsed and you don't have the means to rebuild (it), you will be forced to leave," she told AFP in an interview.

Western and regional powers are hoping to help put Damascus on the road to stability after 14 years of civil war that have sent millions of refugees over its borders.

But this month the worst outbreak of deadly violence since Assad was toppled in December rocked confidence in the new Islamist-led authorities.

"Syria is at the crossroads," Spoljaric said, adding that peace and stability were "possible" but required "a lot of attention" from the international community.

The country's needs are massive as swathes 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.