UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Kuwait next week to chair the second Pledging Conference for Syria, scheduled for January 15th, and hosted by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Deputy Spokesman Farhan Haq announced at today's press briefing. The Conference aims to mobilize the required financial resources to enable the United Nations and its partners to meet urgent humanitarian needs, and to harness solidarity for the plight of the Syrian people internally and in neighbouring countries. He said that "as the humanitarian situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, the Secretary-General calls once more on Member States to participate in the conference and to remain generous." While in Kuwait City, Ban will meet with senior Kuwaiti officials, as well as with other officials from Member States participating in the Pledging Conference.