France to continue assisting Jordan in refugee crisis — ambassador

AMMAN — Although France is not directly contributing to Jordan’s budget this year, the European country is extending assistance to mitigate the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordanians, French Ambassador Caroline Dumas said on Sunday.

Dumas said that in the past two years, Paris has extended 150 million euros in direct cash assistance to support Jordan’s budget, but no direct assistance is planned for this year.

However, 100 million euros, including 35 million euros to assist Syrian refugees, has been allocated at present for the implementation of projects for host communities in Jordan, the ambassador told reporters at a Q&A session to mark her country’s national day, observed on July 14.

Noting that Paris is currently studying extending a loan of 160 million euros to the Greater Amman Municipality for the Bus Rapid Transit project, Dumas said total French support for development projects in the Kingdom stood at 510 million euros between 2012 and 2014.

Jordan, she added, is an “important partner for France” and “we look to further bolster our ties”.

“We work closely with Jordan inside the UN; [in addition] we are following the reforms that were launched by King Abdullah,” Dumas said, adding that France supported the establishment of a constitutional court and is exchanging expertise with Jordan.

Jordan is located in the middle of a tumultuous region but was able to maintain its stability, according to the diplomat, who noted that her country is working with the Kingdom towards achieving peace in the region.

In this regard, the ambassador said her country condemns the current incidents in Gaza and Israel. 

“France calls for stopping violent acts by the two parties,” Dumas said.

“We also call for resuming the peace talks” and returning to the 2012 ceasefire agreement, she added.

The ambassador said pressure should be put on Israel to stop its military operations, adding that her country has no direct contact with Hamas but will contact the group through other countries such as Turkey and Egypt.

As for the situation in Syria, the ambassador said France was one of the first countries to call for a peaceful solution to the conflict there.