‘UN Office for Project Services to support Jordan’s decentralisation’

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad met with Executive Director of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Grete Faremo on Sunday and discussed ways for the UN agency to support Jordan’s development and reform projects.

The support is especially needed as the Kingdom continues to receive huge waves of Syrian refugees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two officials discussed means for the UNOPS to assist Jordan in expanding local governance and decentralised development, according to Petra.

Additionally, Hammad and Faremo discussed means to assist local administrations to build institutional and development capabilities through specialised programmes. 

The minister outlined the requirements to implement decentralisation in Jordan which are related to the technical, technological and financial fields. 

He noted that the project aims at reform through activating popular participation at the local levels.

The minister stressed that His Majesty King Abdullah always focused on the importance of the economic, social and administrative development progress that allows greater popular participation in decision and policy making.

Faremo highlighted the UNOPS’ support for Jordan to help it carry the burdens of the Syrian refugee crisis, noting that the UN office is ready to offer assistance in ensuring the success of the decentralisation process.

The UNOPS is an operational arm of the UN, “supporting the successful implementation of its partners’ peacebuilding, humanitarian and development projects around the world”, according to the agency’s website.