Planning minister meets with US fact-finding mission

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Tuesday briefed a US fact-finding mission, affiliated with UNHCR, on the economic challenges facing Jordan as a result of the regional turmoil and hosting the Syrian refugees, a ministry statement said.

Fakhoury stressed the importance of the international community’s commitment to sustain support and to consider the regional situation to enable the Kingdom to continue honouring its responsibilities of providing services to the refugees and the host communities.

He also stressed the importance of investing in the Jordanian reform process and the Jordan Compact in order to support the Jordan Response Plan (JRP), according to the statement.

The economic challenges entail additional pressure on the general budget, the infrastructure, education, health, water and municipalities, the minister said.

He reiterated that the continuation of the Syrian crisis has required a holistic approach to deal with burdens of hosting millions of refugees through the Jordan Compact adopted during the London Conference on Syria in 2016, which sought to turn the crisis into a development opportunity for the refugees and their host communities.

Jordan has also joined the Brussels Conference to follow up on the outcomes of the London Conference, in which the international community renewed its commitment to politically and financially supporting Jordan, the statement added.

Fakhoury and the mission members discussed the technical support provided by the EU to assist Jordan in benefitting the agreement to simplify the rules of origin for the Jordanian products exported to the EU, attracting new investments, securing more support to finance the plan to stimulate economy, increasing exports and jobs for youth and women.

The planning minister also briefed the mission members on Jordan’s negotiations with the World Bank, calling for increasing grants to support the budget and concessional financing.

He said the Jordan has reached its “ultimate limit” in shouldering the burdens of hosting the Syrian refugees, according to the statement.

For their part, the mission’s members commended Jordan’s role in hosting the refugees, calling it a “role model” in dealing with the issue.

They expressed understanding of the burdens and challenges the Kingdom is facing and underscored the US commitment to support the Kingdom in overcoming them, according to the statement.