Fakhoury, donors assess progress in Jordan Compact ahead of New York meeting

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Wednesday chaired a meeting with representatives of donor countries and organisations.

During the meeting, attended by officials from the World Bank and a number of ambassadors, the minister discussed with the participants progress made in implementing the Jordan Compact that was updated at the Brussels conference on Syria last April, according to a ministry statement.

The meeting comes in preparation for the ministerial meeting on the Syrian refugees that will be hosted by the EU in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on September 21st.

The meeting aimed to review progress on implementing the international commitments to supporting Jordan announced during the Brussels conference, and discussing global efforts to reach a peaceful solution for the Syrian crisis.

Fakhoury stressed the importance of maintaining the momentum of the aid to support the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) to handle the Syrian refugee crisis in accordance with the international community's pledges during the conferences of London in February last year and the follow-up meeting in Brussels. He urged stepping up global support for capital spending projects in priority sectors designed to assist refugee-host communities to cope with the repercussions of the refugee influx.

He also underscored the importance of maintaining the levels of aid in the form of grants and concessional loans, especially to support the general budget and bridge the financial gaps resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis.

The minister outlined the benefits Jordan has so far made from an agreement to simplify the rules of origin for Jordanian products seeking entry into EU markets, a donor countries' programme to provide Jordanian companies with technical support to improve exporters’ capabilities and plans to provide vocational training, skill rehabilitation and job generation.

Fakhoury stressed the importance of sustaining the support Jordan has been receiving to optimally utilise the rules of origin agreement, attract more investments and render a success the plan to stimulate economic growth.

He also highlighted the importance of attracting investments, increasing exports, creating jobs for young people and women, financing the National Strategy for Human Resources Development, and focusing on the Jordanian government's priorities including the capital spending projects to support the host communities.

For their part, the donors’ representatives commended the progress made in implementing the Jordan Compact, which, they said, reflects Jordan's commitment to the outcomes of the Brussels conference.

They also underlined the international community’s seriousness in responding to Jordan’s needs related to the refugee crises.

The international community has pledged to sustain the levels of support for the JRP and the development priorities in line with the Executive Development Programme, in addition to supporting the companies that seek to benefit from the simplified rules of origin.

The planning minister noted that the agreed on foreign support has reached $1.47 billion in 2017, of which $476.3 million is in grants for the JRP (which accounted for 18 per cent of required finance for 2017), $359.1 million in other grants, and $633 million in concessional loans for development projects and budget support.