ESCWA ‘committed’ to supporting Jordan

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury met earlier this week with Undersecretary General and Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Rima Khalaf to discuss various areas of cooperation.

The two officials underlined the importance of boosting joint efforts, particularly regarding implementation of the “Jordan 2025” blueprint output.

Discussions also addressed Jordan’s position towards the post-2015 global development agenda and sustainable development goals, according to a ministry statement.

In addition, the meeting tackled the global conference for financing on development and the UN climate change conference, which are key milestones to underpin the commitments of individual countries towards global development and determine aid to developing nations in the coming stage, two issues extremely important for Jordan’s development agenda, the ministry said.

Discussions covered scopes of cooperation in achieving sustainable development goals and an upcoming UN summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda that will be held in New York in September.

Fakhoury said the burdens borne by Jordan, as an upper-middle income state, on behalf of regional countries and the international community, should be taken into consideration, stressing the need to provide soft financing tools to bolster the Kingdom’s capability and resilience as an oasis of security and stability.

He added that the repercussions of the Syrian crisis and the presence of Syrian refugees have adversely impacted the Kingdom’s development gains and its national development agenda.

Khalaf commended the ministry’s efforts and its cooperation with ESCWA as well as its support of regional conferences, meetings and forums that Jordan hosts.

She also pledged
ESCWA’s commitment to cooperating with the ministry and offering it the necessary technical support.