Fakhoury, British minister discuss bilateral cooperation

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Monday met with MP and Minister of State for International Development and Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Alistair Burt, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

During the meeting, Fakhoury thanked the UK for its continued support to Jordan’s development process and facing the burden of hosting Syrian refugees.

Fakhouri stressed the need for the international community to fully honour its commitments to support the Kingdom, highlighting the role of the UK and the EU in following up and ensuring the fulfilment of the commitments made during the London and Brussels conferences on Syria and the host countries.

Fakhoury and Burt discussed means of boosting the development cooperation between the two countries. They stressed the importance to enhance efforts in mobilising the necessary international support to assist Jordan through supporting the Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian crisis, the provision of grants and concessional funding to support the public budget, in light of the central role played by Jordan under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah.

The UK official stressed his country’s understanding of Jordan’s challenges and the continuation of support to various vital sectors such as education, water, economic opportunities for host communities, the statement read.

Fakhoury and Burt discussed the development priorities in accordance with the government’s Executive Development Programme 2018-2020, which includes the outcome of the Plan to Stimulate Economic Growth 2018-2022 and the outcomes of other national strategies.

The UK has supported vital sectors in the Kingdom including its efforts in the implementation of the agreement to simplify the rules of origin for Jordanian products at the EU markets, the statement added.

Burt commended Jordan’s pivotal role in enhancing the regional and international security and peace, as well as in fighting terrorism, inter-faith dialogue and hosting the Syrian refugees.