Protecting Jordan is in UK’s best interest — minister

AMMAN — Jordan is an “island of stability” in a very turbulent region and it is in the interest of the UK to safeguard the security of the refugee-hosting Kingdom, a senior British official said Tuesday. 

Speaking to reporters, UK Minister of State for International Development Desmond Swayne said the need to protect Jordan’s stability is a “highly” important matter and is on Britain’s foreign policy agenda, noting that the Kingdom is shouldering an “enormous” responsibility. 

“We understand Jordan’s burdens. We will stand by Jordan and support it in this difficult time,” he said.

“Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis [March 2011], the UK has spent some $1 billion, a quarter of which will be spent in Jordan,” the minister noted.

“The UK has already allocated around a quarter of a billion dollars in funding in Jordan to help meet the challenges of hosting large refugee communities since the start of the Syrian crisis. As part of this the UK is providing $20 million to nine of the municipalities most affected by the influx of Syrian refugees.”

Swayne commended the local authorities’ cooperation with the international organisations working at the Zaatari Refugee Camp to bring relief aid to the Syrian refugees.

The minister also highlighted the humanitarian assistance the Kingdom has been extending to Palestinian refugees from Gaza since the 1970s. 

“Jordan’s burdens should not be underestimated,” he stressed.

Swayne said he toured several places in Jordan and met with officials to see host communities’ difficulties and the nature of support needed from the UK.  

“I visited Zaatari village [in Mafraq] and saw that schools there have two shifts a day to cope with the Syrian refugees. I met with the education minister to see how the UK can help in education programmes.”

The minister explained that private sector development is the key to resolving Jordan’s economic woes, as it is the case everywhere in the world, adding that empowering the private sector to create jobs and contribute to economic growth is the major domain the UK will be focusing on in assisting Jordan. 

The private sector in Britain, he said, has helped immensely in creating jobs in place of those lost in the public sector at the time of strict austerity.

Supporting entrepreneurs and enhancing education, capacity- and personality-building programmes can be of great help to Jordan’s economy, the minister added.

Accompanied by British Ambassador Peter Millett, Swayne paid a visit to Zaatari village and checked on a set of projects implemented by Mercy Corps within the British embassy-funded Leadership and Community Development Project. 

The projects, which aim at easing the pressure placed on host communities by the refugee influx, include the expansion of Safiyah Bint Abdul Muttaleb Secondary School for Girls in the village, a kindergarten project, a playground and a public park, according to Mercy Corps.

Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met with Swayne and briefed him on the reforms Jordan is undertaking and the challenges it is facing, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Despite the regional unrest, Jordan is forging ahead with reforms, Ensour noted, citing the latest constitutional amendments, which are aimed at bolstering democratisation and preparing for parliamentary governments.

The two officials also discussed the latest regional developments, especially the Syrian crisis and its humanitarian repercussions on Jordan.

The premier thanked the UK for its assistance to Jordan to offset the burden of the Syrian refugee crisis, according to Petra.

Swayne said his country is committed to supporting Jordan’s education sector to serve some 120,000 Syrian students.

He also commended the reforms the Kingdom is undertaking.