'Korea to offer support for Jordan in water, health and education'

AMMAN — South Korea plans to provide Jordan with financial and technical support this year in the sectors of water, wastewater, health and education, according to Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) President Kim Young-mok.

The assistance is a response to the requests submitted by Jordan under the Better Life for Girls programme, recently launched by the Korean president to support priority projects in refugee hosting communities, as well as in line with the Jordan Compact, Kim said at a meeting last Thursday with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, according to a ministry statement released Sunday.

The projects include supporting the construction of four new schools in the governorates of Irbid, Mafraq, Amman and Zarqa, whose costs are estimated at $11 million, in line with the Jordan Response Plan 2016-2018.

Those projects, Kim said, aim to empower Jordan to meet the pressures imposed by the Syrian influx while also ensuring that the government continues to provide quality education to both Jordanian and Syrian children in an appropriate environment. 

"Korea would very much like to be among the partners supporting in delivering on the Jordan Compact," he reiterated.

The compact was the final statement issued by the Kingdom following the London donor conference earlier this month. It outlined Jordan’s “holistic approach” to the refugee crisis and listed pledges made by donors to the Kingdom.

Projects also include the construction of a specialised industrial school in Zarqa, some 22km east of Amman, at an estimated cost of $6.5 million. 

KOICA, its president said, is looking positively to providing support in the sectors of water, health and education in regions affected by the refugee crisis in cooperation with UNICEF at a cost of $8 million.

The government of Jordan and KOICA will work closely over the coming months to finalise details of these projects, he added.

The KOICA official is in Jordan to follow up on His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to Seoul in September last year and Fakhoury's visit in December 2015. 

Fakhoury thanked the republic of Korea for its continuous support for Jordan. 

Korea is a key development partner for Jordan, especially in supporting the sectors of water and wastewater, health and education, the statement said. 

In addition, Korea provides Jordan with a technical cooperation programme implemented by KOICA through the provision of volunteers, experts and training programmes, and scholarships aimed at building the capacities of public officials and institutions.

Fakhoury briefed the KOICA president on the impact of regional crises on Jordan, in addition to priorities for the coming period in line with the outcomes of the London conference and the Jordan Compact.

The planning minister also thanked the Korean side for including Jordan as a beneficiary country in the Better Life for Girls initiative.

Korea extended support to Jordan in 2015 in the amount of $45.8 million, in a number of key projects.