Germany has shown continuous support for Lebanon. Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Steinmeier reiterated during his last visit two months ago that the German government «will not leave Lebanon alone to shoulder such a responsibility.»
With great admiration for the Lebanese people and a consistent commitment to help, Germany has allocated more than $280 million to Lebanon, and has overall spent about $960 million to tackle the Syrian refugee crisis since 2011.
I would like to highlight that Germany has pledged (since 2011) to admit 100,000 Syrians on humanitarian grounds, more than the rest of Europe, Australia and Canada combined. Since 2012, Germany has consistently surpassed France as the European country with the most asylum seekers overall. By 2016, the number will probably reach 150,000 persons from Syria alone. In addition, German municipalities have spent around 520 million Euros on humanitarian efforts connected to the crisis in Syria. Part of this amount has helped build reception centers for refugees across Germany.
Germany’s commitment springs from a sense of responsibility, after being itself hit by a similar refugee crisis after World War II. Successive German governments have become a reliable and efficient partner dealing with humanitarian aid and economic cooperation all over the world.