GENEVA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The United States fully supports the efforts made by the UN Refuge Agency (UNHCR) to assist some 4 million Iraqi refugees and internal displaced persons, a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.

    U.S. Under-Secretary of State Paula Dobriansky said Washington had pledged 18 million U.S. dollars toward the UNHCR's emergency appeal of 60 million U.S. dollars for Iraqi refugees and was ready to provide more.

    "In 2007, the U.S. Government expects to provide over 100 million U.S. dollars in humanitarian assistance for Iraqis, both inside and outside Iraq," she told the press following the opening session of the UNHCR's international conference on the humanitarian needs of Iraqi refugees.

    Dobriansky also called for Iraq's neighbors, especially Syria and Jordan, to keep their borders open for Iraqis, amid warnings by international agencies that the two countries have been overburdened.

    Syria and Jordan together host nearly 2 million Iraqi refugees out of a total of some 4 million displaced by the current conflict and Saddam Hussein's regime.

    The two countries on Tuesday urged the international community to provide them with necessary help to manage the flood of Iraqi refugees, which are straining their resources and economies.

    The "huge mass of refugees" is laying great pressure on Syria's economy and infrastructure, Syrian Vice Foreign Minister Fayssal Mekdad told the UNHCR conference in Geneva, which is being participated by some 450 representatives from over 60 nations and international organizations.

    He said Syria was hosting some 1.2 million Iraqis and needs another 256 million U.S. dollars to help them with health care and other services in the next two years.

    Meanwhile, Mukhaimer Abu Jamous from Jordan's Interior Ministry said the 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan were stretching to the limit the resources of the country.

    He urged the international community to make firm commitments through the two-day conference to shoulder Jordan's great burden.