Qatar provides $5m to Ukrainian refugees; reminds world of Syrian and Palestinian refugees

HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater

Qatar has announced the allocation of $5 million, through the Qatar Fund for Development, for humanitarian aid to support Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons, stressing the difficult humanitarian situation faced by millions of refugees in light of the continuing escalation and tension requires the solidarity of the international community.

This came in the State of Qatar's speech delivered by Assistant Foreign Minister HE Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, at the "virtual" Donors' Conference for Ukraine.

Her Excellency reiterated Qatar's call for an immediate cessation of military action in Ukraine and securing humanitarian corridors to ensure the arrival of aid and to resolve the dispute through constructive dialogue and diplomatic methods and to settle the conflict by peaceful means, and not to take what would lead to further escalation.

She pointed out that the world is going through difficult stages and multiple crises that force many to move to a safer place and a better future, and added: "This is what we see today for the Ukrainians who are living in a dark period of their history that pushes them to flee, whether inside or outside the country to avoid war and its horrors, as is the case for the millions of refugees who have previously suffered from the scourge of war and the international community’s neglect of their suffering, such as the Syrian refugees, not to mention the longest refugee tragedy in modern history, which is the tragedy of the Palestinian refugees.

In this context, the Assistant Minister said that Qatar fears that the conflict will expand to include other neighboring countries in and around the Balkans, expressing Qatar's sincere condolences to the families of the victims and its wishes for an urgent solution to this human tragedy.

Her Excellency also expressed her thanks to H E Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and H E Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, and to those who hosted this conference to support Ukrainian refugees and displaced persons.