PM calls with King of Saudi Arabia, Angela Merkel and Norwegian PM: 27 January 2016
David Cameron spoke with the King of Saudi Arabia, and later the Chancellor of Germany and Prime Minister of Norway on the Syria conference.
Prime Minister’s call with the King of Saudi Arabia
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister called King Salman of Saudi Arabia this evening to discuss plans for the Syria donors conference, taking place in London on 4 February. The call also covered Yemen.
The Prime Minister congratulated the King on the first anniversary of his accession to the throne.
Both leaders agreed the Syria donors conference would be an important opportunity to boost support to refugees in the region, including through significant additional funding. Agreeing to work together to make the conference the greatest possible success, the King promised high-level attendance from Saudi Arabia.
On Yemen, the Prime Minister and King agreed on both the need for a political solution and for international humanitarian law to be respected at all times.
Prime Minister’s call with the Chancellor of Germany and the Prime Minister of Norway
A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister called the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the Norwegian Prime Minister, Erna Solberg, this evening to discuss preparations for the Syria donors conference in London next week which the UK, Germany and Norway will be co-hosting along with Kuwait and the UN.
They agreed the event would be a major moment in tackling what is now widely accepted as the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis, and that all countries in attendance should look to at least double the financial pledges made in Kuwait in 2015, to better meet the great need identified in the UN appeals. This would be critical in ensuring refugees and vulnerable people in Syria received the necessary levels of humanitarian assistance, including vital support such as food.
They agreed a further key objective would be to secure an ambitious package of measures to spur economic growth and enable hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees across the region to work, as well as helping host countries deal with the impact. The Prime Minister, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Solberg noted this would be a genuinely innovative and effective way of addressing the migration crisis, providing refugees with real hope and opportunity for the future and reducing the incentives to make the perilous journey to Europe.
Find out more about the Supporting Syria and the Region Conference: London 2016