Logistics centre mulled in Jordan to contribute to Iraq, Syria rebuilding

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Monday received President of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Suma Chakrabarti and the accompanying delegation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, attended by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, Mulki expressed Jordan's appreciation for the bank to choose it as the first country in the Arab region to host EBRD’s annual meeting, which is set to kick off by the end of May.

The prime minister stressed that Jordan is looking forward to the forum to discuss efforts and opportunities for supporting economic growth in the Kingdom to help it overcome the challenges and repercussions resulting from hosting Syrian refugees.

Mulki also valued the bank's activities and investments in Jordan, pointing out that there are promising opportunities and prospects for future cooperation between the two sides, stressing Jordan's keenness on benefitting from EBRD's "longstanding expertise" in areas of vocational and technical training, youth rehabilitation in refugee-hosting communities as well as training Syrian refugees in professions that would contribute to the reconstruction and development of Syria once the situation is right for their repatriation.

He also highlighted the possibility of establishing a logistics centre in Jordan to serve parties involved in the reconstruction of Iraq and Syria, noting that the EBRD’s participation in the facility envisioned will be highly welcomed considering the expertise and potentials the bank enjoys.

For his part, Chakrabarti expressed interest in enhancing the bank’s Jordan-based activities, praising the Kingdom’s efforts in facilitating and ensuring the success of EBRDs projects.

The president also cited EBRD’s various activities and investment projects in Jordan, mainly in the fields of renewable energy, water, sanitation, infrastructure and urban transport, adding that the bank’s investment portfolio in Jordan has so far reached one billion euros since 2012.