Clifford Chance advised KfW (Reconstruction Loan Corporation) on the structuring of a Framework Agreement for the Syria Recovery Trust Fund.

Acting on the instructions of the Foreign Ministries of both Germany and the United Arab Emirates, KfW has set up the Syria Recovery Trust Fund which provides emergency relief and aid for the recovery of the Syrian economy. Both Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) made initial contributions of EUR 10 million to the fund. The fund is designed to help improve the supply of clean water, energy, medical care and food to those who have been affected by the civil war and to also ensure the availability of resources for reconstruction projects when the armed conflict comes to an end. German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle, the UEA Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, Jumaa Mubarak Al-Junaibi, the Chairman of the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, Ahmed Jarba, and the Director of KfW's North Africa and Middle East Department, Wolfgang Reuß, signed a Framework Agreement on the setting up of the Syria Recovery Trust Fund (SRTF) at a signing ceremony on 2 September 2013 in Berlin.

The two founding donors, Germany and the UAE (which are both members of the Friends of Syria group), the National Coalition representing the Syrian Opposition Forces and the KfW, through which funds will be channelled, and which serves as trustee are the founding members of the SRTF. Denmark officially announced its contribution of approximately EUR 3.3 million to the SRTF, becoming the first donor to the contribution to the Fund following the two founding countries. Numerous other members of the Friends of Syria group have agreed to accede to the Framework Agreement in the near future, and to contribute to the trust fund.

The SRTF is a joint funding mechanism of the member states of the Friends of Syria group. More than 100 countries are now members of the Friends of Syria group which was founded as far back as early 2012. The aim of the group is to help realise the Syrian people's aspiration for freedom and democracy.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Dr. Beda Wortmann and included partner Loren Richards, associates Lena Hefele and Tanja Gropp (all Banking & Capital Markets, Frankfurt), as well as partner Itir Çiftçi (Corporate, Istanbul) and associate Sait Eryilmaz (Banking & Finance, Istanbul).