Planning minister attends high-level meetings on sidelines of UN General Assembly

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury has participated in several high-level meetings as part of Jordan’s participation in the UN General Assembly, a ministry statement said on Monday.

Among the activities was the EU hosted ministerial meeting, co-chaired by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Staillianides, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and several ministers from Syrian refugees host countries.

Fakhoury noted that the meeting came upon request by Jordan to “sustain the momentum of action” including the international community’s commitments made during the London Conference on Syria in 2016 and the Brussels Conference last April, according to the statement.

He said the meeting aimed to review the means of sustaining the response to humanitarian needs in Syria, address the needs of Syrian refugees and host communities, enhance the resilience of host countries, and maintain stability across Syria through de-escalation zones.  

He urged the EU, UN and Brussels Conference’s organising countries to abide by their commitments and to transform them into concrete support, noting that the Jordan Response Plan’s (JRP) financing has not exceeded 39 per cent so far, the statement said.

He cited the upcoming Brussels Conference 2, scheduled for the spring of 2018 to ensure the continuity of support for countries hosting Syrian refugees.

The minister expressed Jordan’s appreciation for the international community’s support and stressed that Jordan hosts 13 per cent of the world’s UNCHR registered refugees, in addition to hundreds of thousands of unregistered Syrian refugees, the statement read. 

He highlighted the need to help Jordan preserve its resilience in light of the drop in the economic growth rate, the increase of the public debt, and the spike in unemployment, which altogether affects all aspects of life including public services.

Deputising for Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Planning Minister also took part in a high-level panel on water co-chaired by UN Secretary General António Guterres and the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

The panel aimed to provide advisory instructions on the management and improvement of water resources, in addition to improving the relevant services, the statement said.

During the panel, Fakhoury outlined the continued pressure on Jordan to sustain the water resources due to the massive influx of Syrian refugees into the Kingdom.

The minister also attended the meeting of the International Commission on Forced Displacement, where he cited Jordan as a “model” at the global and regional levels in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis.

The planning minister also participated, as a main speaker, in two round-table sessions held by the World Economic Forum. The first session focused on accelerating development financing while the second discussed the issue of running the digital development agenda. 

The Minister of Planning later participated in a high-level symposium organised by the World Development Centre, with the participation of ministers and senior officials from Denmark, France, Moldova and the UN Development Programme, according to the statement.

The meeting focused on global refugees crises by bridging the gap between the various humanitarian responses to the refugee crisis and development support.

Fakhoury also joined a high-level meeting on transparent government partnership, co-chaired by the presidents of Georgia and France, the statement concluded.