Theresa May assigns £1bn to aid Syrian refugees

CAIRO – 5 April 2017: The U.K. government will assign 1 billion British pounds to aid Syrian refugees and those regional states hosting them, the British Embassy in Egypt

announced

on their Facebook page Wednesday.

The announcement coincides with Tuesday’s launch of the ‘Syria’s Humanitarian Aid Conference’ in Brussels.

As British Prime Minister Teresa Mae concluded her visit to Jordan Wednesday and arrived in Saudi Arabia, her second stop of a regional tour, she made the decision to set aside £1 billion in aid to provide education, stabilization and employment to help victims of the Syrian conflict in their host countries.

According to a report by the Dubai-based governmental regional media and communication center, 840 million British pounds of the aid was designated at the London conference for Syria last year. 160 million in new allocations will provide vital assistance to refugees and their host countries throughout the region.

”Hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives, while millions of others have had to flee their homes because of the barbarity of the conflict in Syria,” Mae said. “The United Kingdom is at the forefront of the international response to the greatest humanitarian crisis of our generation, and will continue to lead these efforts.”

“The ambitious approach agreed by donors in London last year has yielded real results and gives refugees what they want - opportunities and education close to their country as a real alternative to risking their lives in trying to reach Europe. This is clearly in the interest of the United Kingdom,” she added.

Mae also added in her statement, “I will urge the countries attending the Brussels conference to follow Britain's international path and fulfill the promises we made in London by increasing aid to millions of people affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria and helping to strengthen resilience throughout the region.”

The Prime Minister concluded her statement saying; “We are a country of good character and generosity, and we will never turn our backs on those in desperate need of our help.”

According to the statement, Jordan, one of the regional countries hosting Syrian refugees, is hosting more than 650,000 registered Syrian refugees. Mae was briefed on the challenges Jordan faces when she visited a school for Syrian and Jordanian children. The British aid package is focused on providing new incentives for refugees to stay in the region so they do not feel compelled to embark on risky and potentially life-threatening journeys to Europe.

The aid package includes providing more education, skills and work opportunities for refugees and others in countries sharing borders with Syria, such as Jordan, to help stabilize the conditions of the refugees as well as helping hosting countries with the continued influx of refugees in search of shelter.

In a call with the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson’s office, it was affirmed that Egypt has not yet received confirmation that it will be included in the humanitarian aid package as a host country for Syrian refugees.