Germany delivers first tranche of aid pledged in London conference

AMMAN — Germany has provided over 100 million euros (around JD80.5 million) to Jordan to help the Kingdom turn the influx of Syrian refugees “into an opportunity”, the German ambassador said on Monday.

The assistance is part of a 2.3-billion-euro fund that Berlin pledged to the region (Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt) at a donor conference in London in February. 

“This swift delivery of funds to Jordan underlines our commitment to supporting the Jordanian efforts to turn this crisis into an opportunity,” said Ambassador Birgitta Siefker-Eberle in a statement issued by the German embassy.

“While supporting the assistance of Syrian refugees, we also focus to develop the Jordanian economy and to assist Jordanian host communities,” she added.

Jordan secured around $1.7 billion in grants and grant equivalents for its Syrian refugee response plan at the London conference, according to the Jordan Compact, a statement issued by Jordanian stakeholders involved in the discussions.

Of the first round of financing from Germany, 30 million euros was allocated to the World Food Programme, 20 million euros to the UNHCR and 10 million euros to UNICEF, the German embassy said.

Meanwhile, some 15,500 new jobs will be created for Jordanians and Syrians through German programmes, while 12.6 million euros will be used by the German Agency for International Cooperation for a waste collection programme in areas hosting Syrian refugees, the embassy added.

The International Labour Organisation received 10 million euros for an infrastructure programme, while 20 million euros will fund teachers’ salaries through the German Development Bank for Reconstruction, to speed up access to formal education for Syrian refugees, the statement said. 

Germany is also financing a number of German and international NGOs working in Jordan.

According to the embassy, the German ambassador has signalled to Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury that Germany will pledge 300 million euros to Jordan in 2016 to help Syrian refugees and to strengthen the resilience of Jordan’s economy and host communities.