Addressing refugee crisis requires looking beyond immediate solutions — Fakhoury

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Wednesday said the Syrian refugee influx into Jordan no longer requires solutions to address immediate problems, but has become an issue of long-term “resilience”. 

Speaking during a meeting with Norwegian State Secretary Marit Berger Rosland, Fakhoury said Jordan can no longer bear the burdens of hosting Syrian refugees on behalf of the world, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The minister said the international community’s making good on its promises to provide enough support to the Kingdom will enable it to boost its resilience and thus continue to provide services to refugees. 

Jordan hosts over 1.3 million Syrians, according to the latest population census. The UNHCR says 655,496 Syrians in Jordan are registered with it as refugees.

Fakhoury highlighted the importance of maintaining the momentum of the London donor conference, and to continue supporting Jordan and increasing funding to face arising challenges. 

“It is not only a problem of refugees, but also an issue that affects all aspects of life in Jordan,” the minister stressed.

He showcased the 2017-2019 Jordan Response Plan (JRP) that was officially sent to the international conference held in Finland’s capital Helsinki last week after its endorsement by the government in Amman, in the presence of representatives of the international community and UN agencies. 

The government has a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis, and the JRP is a call for more support to address the Kingdom’s financial needs, the minister said, adding that the plan was officially adopted as a reference to identify the needs of the response to the crisis. 

Regarding the funding of the 2016-2018 JRP, Fakhoury said in 2016, the funding was around $1.436 billion, which is equal to 54.05 per cent of total needs.

He urged the Norwegian government to increase support to Jordan in light of its “pivotal role” in seeking peace, security and stability in the region and the world, in addition to combating terrorism and extremism. 

Fakhoury also voiced the government’s appreciation of the Norwegian support to Jordan and its stances in helping the Kingdom face challenges arising from the Syrian crisis. 

For her part, Rosland voiced her country’s interest in continuing to support Jordan to enable it to provide humanitarian services for refugees, and to bolster the resilience of host communities. 

The official was visiting the Kingdom to follow up on the discussions during the conference in Finland held to tackle humanitarian issues related to Syria and the region.