📰 Japan provides $5.37 million to support sustainable return and reintegration in Syria

Damascus, Dec. 11(SANA) Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Syria, Tsuji Akihiro, and Special Coordinator for Syria, together with Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, UNHCR Representative in Syria, signed the partnership grant documents provided by Japan to Syria under the project “relief Protection for Sustainable Return and Reintegration,” valued at approximately US$5. 37 million, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus. Tsuji informed SANA that Japan and Syria share a long history of friendship and cooperation, and that his country has always been a strong supporter of the Syrian people.

He noted that this grant coincides with the anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime, emphasizing that the contribution reflects the commitment of the Japanese people and administration to stand by Syrians, continue providing backing, respond to relief needs, and accompany the Syrian people during this phase. For his part, UNHCR Representative in Syria Gonzalo Vargas Llosa stated that the grant comes at a vital moment in Syria’s history, one year after liberation, coinciding with International Human Rights Day. He described it as a generous initiative from the Japanese administration, which has maintained a long-standing partnership with Syria. Llosa explained that this contribution will provide crucial backing, enabling at least 1.

5 million Syrians to obtain official documents, thereby allowing them to exercise their human rights through identity papers or property deeds confirming ownership of the lands and homes to which they are returning. Mohammad Zakaria Lababidi, Director of Afro-Asian and Oceanian Affairs at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stressed that the grant carries significant political and humanitarian implications, coinciding with the first anniversary of liberation. He stated it embodies the shared will of the Syrian and Japanese governments and UN organizations to work together in support of Syria’s stability and its people during a pivotal stage in the country’s emerging history. Lababidi noted that Syria-Japan friendship dates back to 1953, and with the opening of the Japanese Embassy in Damascus in 1962, Japan became one of the key supporters of the Syrian people.

He added that the two countries have resumed and strengthened bilateral relations after liberation at various levels. Lababidi explained that the Syrian government is committed to translating political gains into projects and opportunities that serve citizens, support reconstruction and rebuilding, and assist state efforts to create suitable, safe, and dignified conditions for the return of relocated persons and relocated persons, while improving livelihoods. He stressed that Syria’s path to…