15-17 July 2023, Damascus (Syria) – The Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM), upon the invitation of the People’s Assembly of Syria, organized a High-level Mission to Damascus. The PAM delegation was composed by H.E. Hon. Mohamed Abou El Enein (Egypt), PAM President Emeritus and Deputy Speaker of the Egyptian Parliament, Hon. Belal Qasem (Palestine), PAM Vice President, Hon. Gennaro Migliore (Italy), PAM President Emeritus, and the PAM Secretariat.
The Mission focused on identifying possible ways PAM could assist the international community to ease the humanitarian crisis affecting the country and contribute to address critical socio-economic and security challenges at the regional level.
On the first day of the mission, PAM delegates met with the President of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), Mr. Khaled Hboubati, to learn about the activities of the organization in delivering humanitarian aid to the Syrian population, especially following the catastrophic earthquake on 6 February 2023.
It was also recalled that many PAM’s national parliaments promptly answered to the call of the Assembly, the day after the earthquake, to facilitate the mobilization of humanitarian aid, especially life-saving assistance and medical equipment, for survivors in the affected areas.
The PAM delegation also met with H.E. Hon. Hammouda Sabbagh, Speaker of the People’s Assembly of Syria; Hon. Akram Alajlani, Deputy Speaker, and the Heads of the relevant Committees of the Syrian Parliament.
Discussions focused on the reconstruction of Syria, and its renewed ties with the Arab countries, as well as the necessity for the international community to assist Syrian people to recover after 12 years of a tragic war.
On the second day of the Mission, PAM delegates met with Mr. Kenneth Crossley, Country Director and Representative for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Syria. He provided an overview of the projects that the WFP has been implementing in the country to rebuilding and strengthening Syrian communities, and stressed the added value of parliamentary diplomacy in advocating with national government, in order to secure more funds for the WFP to continue its activities.
In this regard, PAM pledged to further reinforce its cooperation with the UN in Syria to facilitate, in all possible ways, the delivery of the humanitarian aid and support all initiatives aiming to reach a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis.
Syria has always figured among the top priorities of PAM, and in-depth discussions on the situation in the country and its regional reintegration will be held during the forthcoming PAM 50th Bureau Meeting.//