'25% of Jordan's budget goes to refugee-related costs'

AMMAN — Jordan's Permanent Representative to the UN office in Geneva said on Thursday that refugee-related costs deplete around 25 per cent of the Kingdom's budget.  

At a meeting in Geneva, attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, Ambassador Saja Majali highlighted Jordan's burdens caused by hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, adding that all sectors, especially water, have been under "tremendous" pressure due to the refugee influx.

She added that 90 per cent of the approximately 1.3 million Syrian refugees in the Kingdom live in cities and villages, noting that they constitute around 20 per cent of the Kingdom's population, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Majali also said that there are 145,000 Syrian students receiving their primary and secondary education at public schools, noting that the international support to ease the pressure on the Kingdom's education sector does not exceed 25 per cent, while the rest is covered by the government.

Stressing that the whole world is facing an "unprecedented" refugee challenge, Majali called for solidarity and responsibility-sharing.

She also reiterated Jordan's unaltered position on Syria's ongoing conflict, which advocates a comprehensive political solution that can bring an end to the Syrian people's suffering and safeguard the territorial unity of their country.