Canadian research centre opens MENA branch in Amman

AMMAN — Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) has officially inaugurated its Middle East and North Africa regional office in Amman, at an opening reception held on Monday at the Landmark Hotel. 

In her opening remarks, IDRC Governor Shainoor Khoja said: “It is an honour for the IDRC to serve as an ally and to help facilitate evidence-based positive change in the lives of Jordanians and in the lives of the people across the Middle East and North Africa”.

According to Khoja, the IDRC, as a Canadian government agency, funds “research across a wide range of areas, including agriculture, environment, technology, governance, gender and economic empowerment with a focus on sustainable and inclusive development”.   

IDRC President Jean Lebel, in his opening remarks, expressed his gratitude to the Jordanian government for welcoming the IDRC. 

“We are eager to learn how IDRC can help Jordan achieve national priorities through the research we support... IDRC’s new regional office will strengthen our ability to access all parts of the region, confidently convene partners and guests, and work near other international organisations,” Lebel said.

Lebel highlighted the history of the IDRC’s presence in the region, stating that “while IDRC’s regional office might be new to Jordan, we have been supporting projects in the Kingdom since 1976 and in the Middle East since 1971”. 

In remarks to The Jordan Times, Lebel said: “The fact that IDRC has been doing work in Jordan since 1976 illustrates that there is a scientific foundation in Jordan; there are good universities and good organisations that are carrying research.”

“If the Jordanian society is in need of answers on how to make better informed decisions, whether it is in the field of health, science or technology, IDRC provides support to researchers and institutions. The role of IDRC is to support good research based on scientific evidence with the results used by the research community and decision makers.”

Lebel also reviewed the advantages of having IDRC’s regional office in Amman, saying, “It is quite an interesting city, culturally and scientifically, and the connection to other countries in the region is easy, whether it is Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon or Syria."

In the closing remarks of the ceremony, Barbara Shenstone, IDRC’s Middle East and North Africa regional director added that Jordan is “a friendly comfortable place where we can work with, and near, partner organisations and individuals”.