Celebration held to mark 60 years of Jordan-Germany cooperation

AMMAN — Marking 60 years of development cooperation between Jordan and Germany, a celebration was held under the patronage of HRH Crown Prince Hussein at the Children’s Museum in Amman on Saturday. 

The German government invited its Jordanian partners and representatives from civil society and the business community to the event, which was an “opportunity to celebrate joint achievements and to look ahead to a common future”, according to a statement from event organisers.

Saturday’s event, held under the theme of “Creating Perspectives with Jordan’s Youth”, officially opened with a speech by German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle. 

“We have achieved a great deal together over the past 60 years,” the statement quoted Siefker-Eberle as saying.

“Almost 3 million people in Jordan have gained access to drinking water. 28,000 people have been employed in cash-for-work programmes, and 7,000 have found long-term jobs thanks to employment promotion activities. 37 newly built schools now provide almost 24,000 children with access to education,” she said.

An interactive programme served to inform attendees of Jordanian-German development cooperation, with Germany’s efforts in the Kingdom focusing on water, waste management, employment, vocational training and education, the statement read.

The Jordanian public were introduced to projects implemented by various organisations with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

One organisation used a model of a levee to show how much water is lost through soil erosion. There was also a creative workshop where children could use building blocks to design their ideal school. Visitors were also able to tour the Zaatari refugee camp using a virtual reality headset and see how waste management works there, the statement said.

A gala event was held in the evening at the Children’s Museum under the patronage of HRH Crown Prince Hussein.

“German development cooperation with Jordan is a model of productive bilateral ties for the global community, whose principles we will pass onto the youth we celebrate today,” said Mohamad Al-Ississ, minister of planning and international cooperation and minister of state for economic affairs, who deputised for the Crown Prince. 

BMZ’s Parliamentary State Secretary Norbert Barthle added that the partnership between the two countries has adapted over the years to take new situations into account. 

“Even in the midst of changes, some things stayed the same,” he said. “It is a long-standing and mature partnership built on trust. Germany will remain a staunch supporter of Jordan. As we did over the past 60 years, we will adapt to new requirements in future.”

Germany commissioned a “record” volume of 729.4 million euros, including two development policy loans for water and education, during government-level talks with Jordan this month, according to the statement.