Japan Promises $2.5 Billion for Middle East Nations Coping with Effects of ISIS
The government of Japan has promised billions of dollars of support for countries that are currently dealing with the threat posed by the Islamic State.
Reuters reports that while in Egypt Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced $2.5 billion in financial aid for the Middle East that comes on top of a previous $2.2 billion Japan pledge to the region in 2012.
The money will be used for things like infrastructure development. Egypt will receive $360 million for infrastructure projects including an airport and major improvements to its energy distribution system.
Abe said developing such infrastructure would lead to economic growth that would provide jobs and hope for the millions of unemployed people throughout the Middle East. Abe said the only truly effective way to combat extremism was through the growth and development of a middle class in the region.
The financial aid will also be used to help alleviate the serious humanitarian crisis rocking the region. The rise of the Islamic State and warfare in Syria and Iraq has forced millions of people from their homes.
These people have tried to find refuge in bordering nations such as Turkey and Lebanon, where they are housed in refugee camps that often have only the barest of essentials. There are approximately 2 million Syrian refugees in Turkey alone. The plummeting temperatures of winter and snowfall serves to make life in the tents of the camps particularly brutal.
Many people also try to find their way to the European Union, risking drowning at sea or abuse by human traffickers.
The trip to Egypt where Abe made the announcement is part of regional tour of the Middle East. Abe will also stop in Jordan, Palestine, Turkey, and Lebanon.
