Minister Ahmed Hussen makes first trip to Syrian border area [Video]

OTTAWA –

International Development Minister Ahmed Hussen and MP Omar Alghabra have made the first Canadian delegation visit to the border region of Turkey and Syria since the fall of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria.

During the visit, Hussen announced $17.25 million in funding for humanitarian assistance including clean water and food, protection services, sanitation and health services.

The pair also went to Qatar where they met with that country’s minister of state for international cooperation to discuss their role in assisting Syrians.

In Saudi Arabia, they met with the minister of state for foreign affairs and the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss “shared objectives for regional peace and security.”

And in Turkey, Hussen and Alghabra met with the deputy minister of foreign affairs to discuss the changing Middle East landscape.

Hussen says the ongoing conflict in Syria has left millions of people in need of urgent …