DHAKA: Germany’s foreign minister called Tuesday for a ‘vow of solidarity’ from the international community for millions of Syrian refugees and the countries such as Lebanon struggling to host them.

Ahead of a one-day conference at his ministry in Berlin, Frank-Walter Steinmeier stressed the need to focus not only on the refugees’ humanitarian needs but also on shoring up the stability of neighbouring states grappling the influx.

More than three million Syrians have fled their country since the uprising that began in March 2011, with most taking shelter in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.

‘Whoever has seen how much, in Lebanon for example, the public health system, the schools, the water supply and much else is utilised by the 1.5 million refugees, knows or can guess how much of an explosive force that really is for the social structures of a country like Lebanon,’ Steinmeier told reporters, according to The Straits Times.

BDST: 1623 HRS, OCT 28, 2014