Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Sunday discussed with President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Kim Young-mok, and the accompanying delegation, means to forge closer cooperation between Jordan and South Korea in various fields as well as issues of common interest.

The visit of the Korean official to Jordan comes as a follow up of the visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to Seoul last September and the visit of the planning minister in December 2015. It also aims to follow up the outcome of the recent London donor conference on Syria, and the support provided by South Korea to Jordan in this regard.

Fakhoury praised the Korean continued support to Jordan, noting that Jordan attaches great importance to its relations with South Korea, and the strong relationship between the two countries' leaderships.

He said that South Korea is one of Jordan's key development partners, namely in the water, health and educational sectors, adding that the Korean agency also implements a technical program through providing volunteers, advisors and training programs and as well as scholarships. The minister also briefed the delegation on the repercussions of the continued regional crises on Jordan, as well as on economic developments in addition to aid that has been approved for Jordan following the recent London conference.

The two sides also discussed future support that will be provided by South Korea to Jordan within the Jordan Response Plan 2016-2018 and the 2016-2018 Executive Development Program, especially in the sectors of water, sanitation, education, vocational training and health.

President of the Korean agency highlighted the strong ties between Jordan and South Korea, stressing keenness of the Korean government to continue providing aid to Jordan to enable it to preserve security and stability, and address the challenges arising from instability in the region.

South Korea he added, intends to provide technical and financial support to Jordan in the water, health and educational sectors, noting that one of the projects include the establishment of four new schools in the governorates of Mafraq, Amman, Irbid and Zarqa at a total cost $11 million within the Jordan response plan to deal with the pressure placed by the influx of Syrian refugees into the Kingdom.

South Korea provided $45.8 million to Jordan in 2015 to implement important projects in various parts of the Kingdom.