The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Saturday that the Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon took part in distributing food, blankets and clothes to displaced Syrians in the Beqaa region of Lebanon. In a statement published on the ministry's official Facebook page, deputy spokesperson for the ministry Nazih El Naggary reported that the Egyptian NGO Resala collected the aid and the Egyptian embassy in Beirut arranged authorisation from the Lebanese authorities to release the aid materials. El Naggary stressed “the need to give the humanitarian dimension of the Syrian crisis due attention". He also asserted the “importance of concerted international and Arab efforts to contribute in the face of a humanitarian crisis". He highlighted the need for continued efforts to find a political solution to the crisis. As of 7 March, 336,997 Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency. The number of Syrians who have fled to Egypt stood at over 43,000 on 6 March, while the government estimates that there are 100,000 Syrians total in Egypt. Other countries hosting displaced Syrians are Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. Jordan currently hosts the largest number of displaced Syrians, 420,000 Syrian refugees according to the Jordanian government. Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Kamel Amr said at the recent Friends of Syria meeting in Rome that Egypt will use its presidency of the 139th session of the Arab League “to make every effort possible to support our Syrian brothers".
