The Syrian Refugee Crisis

Taking part in this conference, the third in a series which Casa Árabe has devoted to analyzing this topic, were H.E. Hissa Abdulla Ahmed Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates; H.M. Prince Mansour Bin Khaled A. Alfarhan Al Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, H.E. Mr. Abdulrazzak Abdul Jalil A. N. Al-Abdul Ghani, Ambassador of the State of Qatar; H.E. Dr. Sulaiman Alharbi, Ambassador of the State of Kuwait, and H.E. Ms. Kifaya Bint Khamis Bin Miyah Al-Raisi, Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman. The event was presented by Miguel Ángel de Frutos, an ambassador and international advisor for Casa Árabe.



In light of the widespread debate which has taken place in Europe due to the arrival of Syrian refugees at our borders and the discussions over distributing them amongst the various EU countries, as well as the economic burden this entails for governments, Casa Árabe has found it to be a good time to take a look at an unknown aspect of this crisis that raises many questions among our institution’s regular audiences, though , without losing a regional perspective. More specifically, we are referring to the Gulf countries’ contributions to the management of this tragic situation and their help searching for solutions from a humanitarian perspective. We must also bear in mind the wealthy economies in these countries and the fact that it is the Arab countries neighboring Syria, along with Turkey, which are most directly suffering the harsh consequences of this crisis.



This round table discussion is the third in a series of meetings to have been organized by Casa Árabe this year in order to discuss the regional dimension of the refugee crisis in Syria. This crisis is currently reaching catastrophic dimensions due to the rise in violence in certain parts of Syria and the arrival of winter. At the first discussion, which took place on November 3 of last year, the refugee crisis was analyzed from a regional perspective, while also examining its socio-economic impact and humanitarian aid. At the second round table discussion, debate focused on the way in which neighboring countries and bordering countries are dealing with this situation. The event included participation by the representatives of these countries’ governments, who expressed what a difficult situation their rulers and populations are experiencing in managing and finding solutions for the crisis created by such a large number of refugees displaced to their countries.