PM in Kuwait for Syrian refugee donor meeting

KUWAIT — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour left for Kuwait on Monday, heading the Jordanian delegation to Tuesday’s 3rd Kuwait donors' conference to raise funds for UN humanitarian operations for Syrian refugees.  

Seventy-eight countries and forty international entities are taking part in the conference, hosted by Kuwait, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the conference, hosted by Kuwait for the third time, the Jordanian delegation will highlight the Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian refugee crisis for 2015, including implementation mechanisms and sources of funding.

The plan seeks to boost Jordan’s capabilities in meeting humanitarian and developmental needs, and in dealing with the costs borne by the Treasury, so that it can carry on with its humanitarian mission. 

The Jordanian delegation to the conference includes Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Jordan’s Ambassador to Kuwait Mohammad Al Kayed.  

In Kuwait, Ensour met Abdulatif Al Hamad, director general and chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) board, who announced that the fund will approve financing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Jordan worth $100 million next week, in addition to funding the Khirbet Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Voicing his appreciation for the fund’s contributions in the Kingdom’s development efforts, Ensour highlighted challenges facing Jordan since the start of the Syrian crisis and the influx of around 1.5 million refugees, Petra reported. 

For his part, Hamad underlined the fund’s commitment to increasing its cooperation with the Kingdom and fund more economic and development schemes. 

Fakhoury noted that the AFESD’s support to SMEs will be extended to the Central Bank of Jordan to be lent to banks with low interest rates. 

He said the government has reached an agreement with the fund to finance the seventh phase of the wastewater treatment scheme through a $54 million loan. 

Fakhoury also highlighted a grant AFESD has extended to Jordan to help it continue providing humanitarian services to the Syrian refugees.