EU announces Donors’ conference to raise funds for the Turkey-Syria earthquakes; Know more

The President of the European Union Commission, Ursula Von Der Leyen, and the Swedish Prime Minster, Ulf Kristersson are all set to organise a Donors’ conference for the victims of the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In a joint statement on Wednesday, the two world leaders expressed their intentions to organise the event and raise funds for the two Middle Eastern countries as the combined death toll surpasses over 12,000. The two countries are struggling to recover after several massive earthquakes jolted the region, making it one of the biggest humanitarian crises in modern history. 

“The Donors' conference will help mobilise the international community to deal with the aftermath of this week's devastating earthquakes. The objective of the high-level Conference, which will be open to EU Member States, neighbouring countries, UN members, international financial institutions and other relevant stakeholders, is to coordinate the donors' response and raise resources in support of the early recovery and relief in the affected areas of Türkiye and Syria,” the statement reads. According to the press release, the conference is going to be chaired jointly by Commissioner in charge of Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, Olivér Várhelyi, and the Swedish Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, Johan Forssell.

The event will be held in March in Brussels

According to the press release, the event will be organised in Brussels in the month of March. The EU chief took to Twitter to announce the event. “We are now racing against the clock to save lives together. Soon we will provide relief aid, together. Türkiye and Syria can count on the EU. @SwedishPM and I will host a Donors' Conference in early March in Brussels. Let’s mobilise funds globally for the affected communities,” she wrote on Twitter. Announcing the event on Wednesday, President von der Leyen asserted that the world is “shaken” by the devastating incident.

We are now racing against the clock to save lives together.

Soon we will provide relief aid, together.

Türkiye and Syria can count on the EU.
@SwedishPM and I will host a Donors' Conference early March in Brussels.

Let’s mobilise funds globally for the affected communities.

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen)

“We are all shaken by the devastating effects of the earthquakes that have hit Türkiye and Syria this week. The priority now is to work around the clock to save as many lives as possible as many people are still trapped under the rubble, in buildings. For this, the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism was immediately activated and sent by now 31 search and rescue teams and 5 medical teams from 23 countries. But we are already sending now a message to the people of Türkiye and Syria: the EU will support your communities. Because no one should be left alone when a tragedy like this hits a people”, von der Leyen said on Wednesday. The Swedish Prime Minister, on the other hand, called the tragedy a disaster “without recent precedent”. “The earthquake in Türkiye and northern Syria is a disaster without recent precedent. The extent of the loss of life and physical damage is becoming clearer by the day. The consequences are truly horrendous. As President of the Council of the European Union, Sweden wants to ensure that the EU's assistance is adequate to meet the need of the Turkish and Syrian people in this terrible time,” the Swedish Prime Minister asserted.