Fakhoury urges EU parliament to extend more financial support to Jordan

AMMAN – Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Tuesday urged the European Union (EU) parliament to extend more grants and concessionary loans to Jordan to support the budget and the implementation of priority development projects.

According to a ministry statement, Fakhoury told a visiting delegation of the European Parliament Committee on Budgets headed by Jean Arthuis that the international community should offer more financial support to the Kingdom to be able to deal with the repercussions of the five-year Syrian crisis, which forced hundreds of thousands to flee their country to Jordan.

The minister said the Kingdom needs more grants to implement vital projects listed in the Jordan Response Plan for the Syria Crisis 2016-2018, in addition to concessionary funding to help the government cover the budget's funding gap. 

The additional financial support by international donors would be in fulfilment of the commitments they pledged to the Jordan Compact during the London conference on Syrian refugees in February of this year to enable the Kingdom deal with the spillover of the Syrian crisis, he said, according to the statement. 

The European delegation is on a visit to Jordan to have a first-hand look at the repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Jordan's financial situation, the conditions of refugees and the implementation of projects funded by the EU, said the ministry, which said that Fakhoury expressed Jordan's appreciation to the EU assistance that helped the Kingdom carry out reforms and development programmes in key sectors. 

He also briefed the delegates on Jordan's reform process at political, social, economic and administrative levels, adding that the Kingdom never used regional turmoil as an excuse to delay reforms.

Jordan has carried out serious, comprehensive and homegrown development and reform programmes based on active citizenship, openness, respect, dialogue, empowerment of citizens, especially women and the youth, and creating new job opportunities to raise the living standards of Jordanians, Fakhoury said, indicating that economic reforms aim at enhancing the competitiveness and productivity of the Jordanian economy and to create an attractive investment and business environment. 

The minister also informed the visiting delegation of the progress of work at the Jordan Compact, especially as issues related to the European commitment to simplify the rules of origin requirements to ease the entry of Jordanian made products into the European markets. 

The ministry's statement said that the delegation expressed their understanding of the substantial challenges facing Jordan as a result of the Syrian crisis, stressing that the need to provide Jordan with sufficient support to help it handle spillovers.

Meanwhile, Lower House First Deputy Speaker Mustafa Amawi on Tuesday received the EU delegation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, Amawi gave a presentation on the most significant achievements in the Kingdom in regard to political and legislation reform, stressing that Jordan looks forward to more logistic support from the EU. 

The lawmaker also highlighted the importance of enhancing bilateral relations and exchanging expertise and visits. For their part, the delegates commended Jordan's role in regard to hosting Syrian refugees, noting that the EU is committed to supporting Jordan to carry out with its humanitarian mission.