Following on from the ministerial meetings in Aqaba (14 December 2024) and Riyadh (12 January 2025) on the situation in Syria, and on the sidelines of the Paris conference on Syria, the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss the humanitarian challenges being encountered by the country and the reconstruction effort necessary for repairing a country scarred by 15 years of war.
This workshop on renewed coordination between Syria's partner financial institutions and with the Syrian transitional authorities was an opportunity for the participants to express their desire to work together to:
- Guarantee unimpeded humanitarian access throughout Syria's territory and on its borders, ensure the protection of humanitarian workers and facilitate administrative efforts, both for the entry of staff into Syria and for operations to deliver aid throughout the territory.
- Support the country's reconstruction, because the needs are huge, especially in the key sectors of energy, transport, water and education, as well as in protecting cultural heritage, including by implementing the lifting of sanctions in priority sectors. This reconstruction will have to benefit Syria's whole population.
- Facilitate the safe, dignified and voluntary return of Syrian refugees and internally displaced people. The international community, the Syrian authorities in Damascus and all the Syrian and regional players must support efforts led by the UNHCR to help those refugees who wish to return to Syria to do so.
- Respond to the challenges of recovery and development by working as a priority in close coordination with Syria's transitional authorities on:
-emergency food aid, nutrition and support for agricultural resilience in Syria;
-The restoration of the health sector;
-access to education, and child protection;
-training to encourage the employability of Syrians in Syria and Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries to speed up Syria's reconstruction;
-the maintenance, rehabilitation and conservation of Syria's heritage, which is important for the country's development;
-the inclusion of all Syrian citizens in the country's development and reconstruction, regardless of their gender, religion or ethnic group.
The institutions represented at the workshop :
• United Nations Secretariat
• World Bank
• United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
• Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
• International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
• World Food Programme (WFP)
• United Nations Development Coordination Office (UNDCO)
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
• European Commission
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Syria INGO Regional Forum (SIRF)