Jordan, US discuss ties, refugee crisis

AMMAN — Interior Minister Ghaleb Zu’bi on Tuesday met with US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Simon Henshaw, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Zu’bi and Henshaw discussed means to boost security, political and economic cooperation. 

Talks also covered regional developments and the impact of the Syrian crisis at the domestic, regional and international levels.

Zu’bi stressed the importance of Jordan’s role in sustaining the security and stability of the region, noting that the international community focuses on supporting refugees by providing direct humanitarian aid, while ignoring host communities that share their resources with refugees. 

He called for establishing productive projects to mitigate the repercussions of the crisis.

Also on Tuesday, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury met with Henshaw and discussed bilateral cooperation.

Fakhoury said the Syrian refugee crisis is not an issue of delivering humanitarian aid any more, but a matter that has affected the Kingdom’s resilience.

Jordan, which hosts over 1.3 million Syrians, has reached the saturation point in dealing with crisis, Fakhoury said, adding that the Kingdom cannot continue shouldering the burden on behalf of the international community without further support.

For his part, Henshaw said assisting Jordan is a US priority, stressing his country’s keenness on supporting the host communities.

Fakhoury and Henshaw discussed arrangements for the international conference that is scheduled to be held by the EU in Brussels in spring, to follow up on the outcomes of last year’s London donor conference on Syria.