Excellencies, dear colleagues

It is a privilege to open the ninth Humanitarian Senior Officials Meeting on Syria. The strong presence here today is a testimony to the broad support to Syria. A special welcome to Director Talal Kanaan from the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I would also like to thank EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib and DG ECHO for co-hosting together with Norway.

This meeting takes place at a pivotal moment. It is the first time we have met in this format since the fall of the Assad regime. Syria today is in the middle of a fundamental transformation. Sanctions are being lifted. Conditions for stability, development, and inclusive governance are being created. We need to seize this historic moment to support the transformation of Syria.

I visited Syria earlier this year. I have seen first-hand the complexity of the challenges but also the opportunities and hope for a better future. We must support the Syrian authorities’ efforts to rebuild the country and to create institutions that meet the needs and protect the fundamental rights of all Syrians.

We must also recognize that this will take time. Humanitarian needs remain huge, and so does the need for effective and timely response in line with the broader Global Humanitarian Reset and UN 80.

Together we should continue to join forces and coordinate our efforts: To protect civilians, ensure principled humanitarian access, provide basic services, and lay the foundations for recovery and long-term development. More is also needed to support those refugees and internally displaced Syrians who choose to return home.  A great effort has been made by the neighboring countries receiving refugees from Syria.

Our message is that humanitarian assistance must go hand in hand with reconstruction. To achieve this, the international community needs to
work together with the Syrian government and civil society.

Preventing further violence and ensuring social cohesion is critical for the recovery efforts and the future of Syria. Additional humanitarian funding and other investments are also much needed, and fast.

Support for Syria remains a strategic priority for Norway. We will continue to provide significant humanitarian assistance in 2026. At the same time, we are focusing more on capacity development, longer-term development, and reconstruction needs. Priority areas for Norway are health and energy, mine action and transitional justice.  Last month I had the pleasure of receiving a delegation from the Syrian General Administration of Electricity who visited Oslo to discuss renewable energy – a visit that illustrated the potential for new areas of cooperation. 

I hope we can use this meeting to strengthen the coordination and partnership between us even further. The task is clear: to help meet the immediate humanitarian needs and lay the foundations for Syria’s reconstruction and long-term development.

And with these final words, I have the honor to leave the floor to Hadja Lahbib, European Commissioner for Preparedness, Crisis Management and Equality, who will address us through a video statement.