Jordan to follow up on donor countries’ adherence to pledge

AMMAN – Jordan is working to secure a meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session next month to follow up on countries' adherence to their London and Brussels conferences’ pledges to the Kingdom. 

According to Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury, Jordan will use the opportunity of the upcoming UN General Assembly session, to be held in New York in September, to "maintain the momentum of assistance extended to Jordan".

"Most of the assistance that is agreed to be channelled to Jordan annually is extended in the third and fourth quarter of the year. We have requested to hold a meeting, presided over by the EU, on the sidelines of the General Assembly, to follow up on donor countries' abidance to their pledges in the London and Brussels conferences," he told reporters on Saturday. 

The Kingdom has referred a report to the UN outlining its needs for the years 2017-2019, as part of the Jordan Response Plan, which seeks to cope with the repercussions of accommodating more than 1.4 million Syrian refugees. 

In 2016, the total amount of foreign assistance pledged to be extended to Jordan reached $3.16 billion, of which $2.55 billion were deemed as development aid to the Kingdom, with grants amounting to $597.2 million and $923.6 million extended in the form of soft loans, Fakhoury said. 

In addition, a total of $1.65 billion was agreed to be extended in 2016 to support the Jordan Response Plan. 

"The $1.65 billion in assistance accounted for 62 per cent of the estimated financial requirements in 2016," the minister noted. 

The 2017 Brussels conference on Syria approved aid worth $39.7 billion, including six grants for countries hosting Syrian refugees, including Jordan. 

The conference was co-chaired by the UN, the EU, Germany, Kuwait, Norway, Qatar and the UK, with the participation of 70 countries.

During the 2016 London conference to support Syrian refugees, donor countries pledged to extend $2.1 billion in additional grants over the next three years to help Jordan cope with the consequences of the influx of Syrian refugees and create jobs in the country.