KSA pledges $60m aid for Syrian refugees

The Kingdom pledged new financial aid of $60 million for Syrian refugees and also disbursement of another $90 million from the previous offers.
The announcement was made by Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf at the Third International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait on Tuesday.
Al-Assaf said the Kingdom would give a total of $150 million under this program. He also thanked the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for his keenness to help the victims of a human tragedy.
The minister said the international community cannot remain silent spectators to the tragedy and urged countries to help the distressed Syrians.
The UN chief said donors have pledged a total of $3.8 billion for the victims of violence in Syria since March 2011.
Meanwhile, the Saudi Fund For Development donated $ 5million to the UNHCR to support the internally displaced Syrians.
An MoU was signed in the presence of Al-Assaf on the sidelines of a donor conference in Kuwait.
The signatories to the agreement were Yousef Al-Bassam, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Amin Awad UNHCR Director for Middle East and North Africa Operations.
“The UNHCR is extremely grateful to the Kingdom, which, under the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, has always been proactive in responding to humanitarian appeals. This generous contribution of the Saudi Arabia will allow UNHCR to boost its life-saving intervention and most needed assistance through the provision of private shelter upgrade." Awad said following the signing ceremony.