BRUSSELS (AP) — International donors on Monday pledged almost 6 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in aid for Syria, hoping to encourage the new leaders of the conflict-ravaged country toward a peaceful political transition following the ouster of President Bashar Assad in December.
Ministers and representatives from Western partners, Syria’s regional neighbors, other Arab countries and U.N. agencies attended the one-day meeting in Brussels, organized in haste by the European Union amid change sweeping the country.
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Delegations attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani arrives for a group photo at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Front row left to right, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica pose during a group photo at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, left, walks by as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, center, rings a bell to signify the start of a round table meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
An elderly Druze man burns garbage in the town of Jaramana, in the southern outskirts of Damascus, Syria, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Syrian security forces inspect vehicles at a checkpoint, following a recent wave of violence between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad, as well as subsequent sectarian attacks, in Latakia, in Syria's coastal region, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian security forces inspect vehicles at a checkpoint, following a recent wave of violence between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad, as well as subsequent sectarian attacks, in Latakia, in Syria's coastal region, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian families who fled the clashes in Syria hold their luggages as they cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon near the village of Heker al-Daher in Akkar province, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, center, signs a temporary constitution for the country in Damascus, Syria, Thursday March 13, 2025. At left foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shiban.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Firemen work at the site of an Israeli missile strike in Damascus, Syria, Thursday March 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
The European Commission said that 4.2 billion euros ($4.6 billion) were offered in the form of grants, and 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion) in low interest loans. Some of the money was pledged over multiple years, making it extremely difficult to calculate an amount for 2025.
Last year, donors committed to provide 7.5 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in grants and loans.
Opening the conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost 2.5 billion euros ($2.7 billion) for 2025 and 2026, and urged others to step up.
“At this critical time, the people of Syria need us more than ever,” von der Leyen said.
Germany said it would pledge around 300 million euros ($326 million) to help deal with the fallout from Syria’s civil war. More than half would be used to help people in Syria, with other funding supporting Syrians and communities elsewhere. Britain said that it was pledging up to $208 million.
Natasha Franceschi, U.S. deputy assistant secretary for the Levant and Syria, said the United States has provided more assistance to the Syrian people than any other nation over the last 14 years, but she did not announce any pledge of money.
“We will continue to provide certain assistance in line with U.S. policies and laws, but we also now expect that other nations are going to help shoulder the financial burden,” she told the conference. The Trump administration is currently reviewing all foreign aid.
Syria’s new leaders are trying to consolidate control over territory that was divided into de facto mini-states during nearly 14 years of civil war, and to rebuild the economy and infrastructure. The United Nations has estimated that it would cost at least $250 billion to rebuild Syria, while experts say that could reach at least $400 billion.
At the same time, Western governments are cutting back on aid spending, in part to use in defense budgets.
“We will give more, but we cannot fill the gap left by the U.S.,” EU Crisis Management Commissioner Hadja Lahbib told reporters. “We will need to share the burden.”
Security concerns are also making donors hesitate. Last week, an ambush on a Syrian security patrol by gunmen loyal to Assad triggered clashes. Some factions allied with the new government launched sectarian revenge attacks — primarily targeting Assad’s Alawite minority sect — that monitoring groups say killed hundreds of civilians over several days.
Despite this, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani urged the donors to help “reconstruction efforts, encourage investment in Syria, and support sustainable development projects that will create opportunities, generate jobs, improve living standards, and restore hope to millions of Syrians.”
He vowed that the new Syrian government would work with partners "to ensure that aid reaches those who deserve it from all regions and communities, and to create appropriate and dignified conditions for the safe, voluntary return of all refugees.”
The 27-nation EU has begun to ease energy, transport and financial sector sanctions to encourage the new authorities, but many other Western sanctions remain in place. The bloc can reintroduce sanctions if things don’t go to the liking of Western backers.
Syria's foreign minister said that lifting the measures is no longer just a government demand but "a humanitarian and moral necessity.”
"We cannot talk about economic recovery and humanitarian development in Syria while restrictions continue to prevent even the arrival of medical equipment and spare parts to repair damaged hospitals and essential service facilities,” al-Shibani said.
Syria's economy, infrastructure and institutions are in tatters. As a failed state, it could become another haven for extremists.
Amy Pope, director-general of the International Organization for Migration, urged donors to seize this opportunity to encourage the interim government to move in the right direction.
“It’s critical that countries take advantage of the moment we’re in,” Pope told The Associated Press.
“Of course, we all want to see an inclusive Syria,” she said. “We want to make sure there’s accountability for human rights violations. But the answer is to engage more, not to engage less.”
Syrians have only a few hours of electricity each day. Water supplies are unreliable and often unsafe. Unemployment runs to 80% or 90%. Destruction is widespread.
Infrastructure, health and education must be scaled up. Jobs and cash for work programs are needed so that Syrians can start to make a living.
Many government employees and experts needed to rebuild fled after the 2011 Arab Spring democracy movement collapsed into conflict and authoritarian rule under Assad.
The U.N. refugee agency said that last year around 7 million people were displaced in Syria. More than 4.7 million refugees are registered in neighboring countries, most in Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan.
Associated Press writers Geir Moulson in Berlin, Abbey Sewell in Beirut and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Delegations attend a round table meeting at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani arrives for a group photo at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Front row left to right, Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani and European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica pose during a group photo at the 9th international conference in support of Syria at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, left, walks by as European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, center, rings a bell to signify the start of a round table meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Monday, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
An elderly Druze man burns garbage in the town of Jaramana, in the southern outskirts of Damascus, Syria, March 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Syrian security forces inspect vehicles at a checkpoint, following a recent wave of violence between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad, as well as subsequent sectarian attacks, in Latakia, in Syria's coastal region, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian security forces inspect vehicles at a checkpoint, following a recent wave of violence between Syrian security forces and gunmen loyal to former President Bashar Assad, as well as subsequent sectarian attacks, in Latakia, in Syria's coastal region, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Syrian families who fled the clashes in Syria hold their luggages as they cross a river marking the border between Syria and northern Lebanon near the village of Heker al-Daher in Akkar province, Lebanon, Tuesday, March 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Syria's interim president Ahmad Al-Sharaa, center, signs a temporary constitution for the country in Damascus, Syria, Thursday March 13, 2025. At left foreign minister Asaad Hassan al-Shiban.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Firemen work at the site of an Israeli missile strike in Damascus, Syria, Thursday March 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
