German minister pledges further aid to region on visit to Damascus

Germany will provide another €52.6 million ($60.8 million) in humanitarian aid to Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on a surprise visit to Damascus on Thursday.

Wadephul was visiting the north-eastern suburb of Harasta, which was largely destroyed during Syria’s civil war that broke out as the regime of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad violently suppressed pro-democracy protests in 2011.

The new funds, €39.4 million of which has been earmarked for Syria, are to go to international humanitarian groups as well as non-governmental organizations working on food security, civil protection, accommodation and health issues, according to the Foreign Office.

Minister urges inclusive rehabilitation

Earlier, Germany’s top diplomat met Syria’s new President Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led a rebel alliance that ousted al-Assad in December.

Ahead of the meeting, Wadephul called on the country’s new government to guarantee citizens “a life in dignity and security.”

“This is the prerequisite for laying the foundations for a free, secure and stable Syria,” the minister said in the Jordanian capital Amman, the first stop on his latest Middle East tour.

Wadephul called on the Syrian government to include all citizens in the country’s rehabilitation, regardless of gender, religious, ethnic or social affiliation.

Germany is committed to helping lay new foundations by supporting efforts to clear mines and explosive ordnance, providing humanitarian aid and investing in the Syrian economy, the minister said.

Events in Syria, which lies in the immediate vicinity of the European Union, also have “a direct and indirect impact” on Germany, Wadephul noted.

As the first anniversary of al-Assad’s ouster nears, the situation in Syria remains fragile.

While the new transitional government says it is striving to stabilize the country and create a “Syria for all,” those efforts have been marred by repeated fatal clashes, including between government troops and minorities.

Syria held its first parliamentary elections since the fall of the regime in September, though the vote garnered international criticism because representation of women and minorities was low.

Fallout from civil war

In Harasta, which had a pre-war population of 30,000, including 2,500 Christians, Wadephul visited a humanitarian project supported by Germany.

Since 2012, the suburb was repeatedly targeted by airstrikes and shelling, pushing out the civilian population and destroying crucial infrastructure.

Ahead of his talks with al-Sharaa, Wadephul said he also planned to discuss the many Syrians who fled the civil war and sought refuge in Germany.

Berlin is counting on many of those former refugees to return to their homeland and help with reconstruction.

However, due to the uncertain situation in the country, only a few Syrians have decided to return so far.

According to official figures, around 951,400 Syrian nationals were based in Germany at the end of August, down from 974,395 at the end of November 2024.