BRUSSELS — Donors at a European Union (EU) led conference on Monday (March 17) pledged 5.8 billion euros (S$8.4 billion) to help Syria's new authorities as they struggle with humanitarian and security problems after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

The pledges at the Brussels gathering were less than last year's 7.5 billion euros in grants and loans, as EU officials pointed to US aid cuts as a major contributing factor.

The annual conference has been hosted by the EU since 2017 — but took place without the government of Assad, who was shunned for his brutal actions in a civil war that began in 2011.

In a first for a top official from Damascus, Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani attended the conference along with dozens of European and Arab ministers and representatives of international organisations.

After Assad's overthrow in December, EU officials hope to use the conference as a fresh start, despite concerns about deadly violence this month that pitted the new, Islamist rulers against Assad loyalists.

"This is a time of dire needs and challenges for Syria, as tragically evidenced by the recent wave of violence in coastal areas," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.

But she said it was also "a time of hope", citing an agreement struck on March 10 to integrate the Kurdish-led and US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, which control much of Syria's northeast, into new state institutions.

About 16.5 million people in Syria require humanitarian aid, with 12.9 million people needing food aid, according to the EU.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the meeting that the EU was increasing its pledge to Syrians in the country and the region to almost 2.5 billion euros for 2025 and 2026. This includes an increase of about 160 million euros to its previous pledge for this year.

Earlier on Monday, European Commissioner Hadja Lahbib said US cuts to humanitarian and development aid had limited the money available for Syria.

"The EU is committed to supporting the Syrian people and is ready to participate in Syria's recovery, but we can't fill the gap left by others," Lahbib said.

Syria's Shibani expressed his appreciation for the pledge by the EU and its partners.

"The reconstruction of Syria is a joint effort and a global partnership that we hope with our friends would contribute to a breakthrough to the Syrian people for further prosperity and progress," the Syrian foreign minister said in a post on X.

United Nations (UN) Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pederson said that while this month's violence along the coast of Syria may have influenced donor countries' pledges, other global conflicts and the reduction in US aid have had the most impact.

"What is happening inside Syria … does have an impact, but let's be honest, even without these events, the funding would have been less than in previous years," Pederson told Reuters on Monday.

"And why is that? Of course, because Syria is, you know, in quotation marks, competing with other areas (conflicts)," he said, referring to wars including in Sudan, Gaza and Ukraine.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group that toppled Assad, is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN. But EU officials want to engage with the new rulers as long as they stick to pledges to make the transition inclusive and peaceful.

Syria has lost 40 years of development due to the war, and it will take at least a decade to return to its pre-conflict state, said Achim Steiner, head of the UN Development Programme.

The destruction has been compounded by an economic crisis that has sent the Syrian pound tumbling and pushed almost the entire population below the poverty line.

"While the needs are increasing, the support is decreasing. And this is, of course, tragic, because we know that the next few months will be critical," Pederson said.

Source: Reuters