UNHCR calls on int’l community to support Syria’s reconstruction

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Tuesday called on the international community to provide humanitarian assistance and support the reconstruction efforts in Syria following the ousting of former president Bashar al-Assad.

In a press conference held in Geneva, Switzerland, Rema Jamous Imseis, the UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa, stated that while many Syrian refugees are returning to their homes following the recent development, a significant number continue to flee the country.

The UN estimates that around one million refugees will return to Syria in the first half of 2025. However, Imseis said the ongoing unrest in the country has led to the displacement of over a million people in the past three weeks alone, the majority of whom are women and children.

"We've seen so far returns from Türkiye, from Lebanon, and smaller numbers from Jordan. But we've also seen outflows as well. And it's important to recall that these people are actually returning to a country that has been devastated by 14 years of civil war. We have over seven million internally displaced Syrians in the country, and over 90 percent of the population is living below the poverty line and reliant on some form of humanitarian assistance to survive," she said.

Imseis also emphasized that the recent changes in Syria do not signify the end of the ongoing humanitarian crisis. She urged countries hosting Syrian refugees not to hastily repatriate them and reaffirmed that Syrian refugees should continue to retain the right to seek asylum.

UN agencies have now resumed aid and support projects in Syria, the official added.

An alliance led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) militant group launched a major military operation starting in northern Syria on Nov. 27, sweeping southward through government-held areas and capturing the capital Damascus within 12 days.

Following the offensive, the Al-Assad government collapsed, while the ousted former president later arrived in Russia for asylum.

UNHCR calls on int’l community to support Syria’s reconstruction

China's total social logistics volume in 2024 is expected to exceed 360 trillion yuan (about 49.42 trillion U.S. dollars), according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) on Wednesday.

The projection was announced by the organization at the 2024 Annual Conference of Chinese Logistics Entrepreneurs held from Tuesday to Wednesday in Hefei City, east China's Anhui Province.

At the same time, social logistics costs have steadily declined, and the ratio of total social logistics costs to GDP is expected to drop to around 14.1 percent in 2024, a significant decrease of 7.2 percentage points compared with 21.3 percent in 2004, according to the CFLP. It suggests that the level of logistics operation has improved significantly over the past 20 years, helping to improve the efficiency of economic operation.

Meanwhile, logistics companies continue to grow and develop. So far, China has more than 10,000 A-level logistics companies, and a number of world-class companies and outstanding entrepreneurs have emerged in the fields of shipping, aviation, railways, express delivery, and supply chain.

Market entities have basically completed the transformation from providing traditional transportation and warehousing services to modern logistics, and are accelerating the upgrade to supply chain services. By adjusting the industrial organization mode, the shortcomings of productive services are supplemented to help enhance the core competitiveness of the industry, according to the CFLP.

China's 2024 social logistics volume expected to surpass 360 trillion yuan