FM discusses with German counterpart preparations for refugee conference

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Wednesday discussed the preparations to hold a Berlin-hosted conference on refugees slated for October 28.

During their meeting in the German capital, the two ministers held follow-up discussions to build on the outcomes of His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to Germany in June. 

They stressed the importance of sustaining political coordination between the two countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Judeh reaffirmed the Jordanian stance on the Syrian issue calling for reaching a political solution that brings back security and stability to Syria with the participation of all components of its people.

Judeh also reviewed the “huge burden the Kingdom is shouldering as a result of hosting 1.5 million Syrian refugees, stressing the importance for the international community to bear its responsibility in helping Jordan in this regard”. 

For his part, Steinmeier underlined the significance of the Jordanian role in supporting regional peace and stability, in addition to fighting extremism and terrorism, notably through its membership in the UN Security Council.

The two ministers discussed German assistance to Jordan for the 2015-16 period to carry out projects in the fields of environment, water and education. 

Discussions also covered ways to develop and benefit from the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition, an international effort launched by the Group of Eight to support countries in the Arab world engaged in transitions towards “free, democratic and tolerant societies”. 

Germany could be of great help in this regard, Judeh noted, as the country is currently the president of the group.